Gridiron to Hardwood: Nation's top 5 combo football, basketball players

Video: Top 5 football, basketball dual-sport athletes
Watch these top football recruits fly high on the hardwood.

The transition from gridiron to hardwood isn't easy. Especially at the elite level. Outdoor to indoor, contact and brawn to fluidity and agility, takes a special athleticism few can truly master.

Here are five who make that transformation seamlessly and impressively, as well as any football to basketball standouts in the country:

1. Jalen Suggs, Minnehaha Academy (Minneapolis, Minn.)
The nation's No. 5 rated dual-threat QB plucked two interceptions — including a 97-yard pick-6 — and finished with five touchdowns overall leading newly formed 13-0 SMB (a combination of Minnehaha Academy, St. Paul Academy and Blake) to its first state title last month. In the 44-18 4A title win over Willmar, the 6-5, 185-pound Suggs completed 9-of-11 passes for 216 yards and three scores. He added 77 yards rushing on top of his defensive numbers. "You just shake your head," SMB coach Collin Quinn told the Pioneer Press. "Yeah, it was incredible." Especially since football is considered Suggs' second-best sport. He's the No. 11-rated junior basketball recruit in the nation as a combo-guard and piloted the Red Hawks to two consecutive state titles and helped Team USA U17 World Cup Team capture a Gold Medal this past summer.

2. Drake London, Moorpark (Calif.)
A 4-star recruit on the gridiron and hardwood, the 6-5, 215-pound USC football commit piled up 1,212 all-purpose yards and 12 touchdowns this season for the Muskeeters. He's rated the No. 38 football recruit overall in California. Remarkably, he's rated even higher in hoops — the No. 105 recruit overall and No. 8 in California — after averaging 28.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game last season.

3. Joe Girard III, Glens Falls (N.Y.)
The 6-2, 185-pound Syracuse basketball commit recorded 3,078 passing yards and 36 TDs this season as the quarterback on the football team. A 3-star football recruit, he finished with 6,767 passing yards and 83 touchdowns in his career and added 1,500 rushing yards and 31 scores, while leading the Indians to two state titles. His bigger splash is on the basketball court, where he averaged better that 50 points per game last season, breaking the New York career scoring mark set by current Los Angeles Lakers sixth-man Lance Stephenson.

4. Julian Fleming, Southern Columbia Area (Catawissa, Pa.)
The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder is the nation's top-rated junior receiver and No. 9 football recruit overall in his class, according to 247Sports. He posted more than 1,400 receiving yards and 22 TDs in guiding the Tigers (16-0) to a state title this season. Last season, the high-flying Fleming averaged 20.0 points and 9.3 rebounds per game for the basketball team.

5. Malachi Wideman, Riverview Sarasota (Sarasota, Fla.)
The 6-4, 180-pounder is ranked the No. 36 receiver in the country from the Class of 2020. He made eye-popping catches and exposed defenses all season in leading the Rams to the state semifinals. With a football offer from Florida, he's an even bigger basketball recruit, rated a top 100 recruit. Besides earning internet fame for his viral dunks, he's averaging 15.3 points and 6.7 rebounds currently for the 4-1 Rams.