Forget about basketball and horse racing.

Ferndale star athlete Eric Ellis is going to the Bluegrass state for football.

Ellis, a two-time all-OAA pick at quarterback, signed a National Letter of Intent with Kentucky State last week. A slithery and strong-armed 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, Ellis is a natural leader and a genuine "sleeper special" under center, having showed his poise and accuracy in the pocket for the Eagles in both his junior and senior seasons on the gridiron. He has the ability to throw a nice deep ball and connect on tight-spiraled mid-range routes. He can also beat teams with his legs if his protection breaks down and out-think the opposition if they give him too much room to roam in their protection schemes.

Back in the fall, he threw for 1,250 yards and 12 touchdowns (against only four interceptions).

During his time as the school's starting signal-caller, Ferndale only went 7-11, however almost all of the Eagles losses came down to the wire and could have easily gone the other way.

Kentucky State went 2-8 in 2012.

The Thorobreds hired Josh Deane as their new coach earlier this month. KSU's 2012 roster featured 10 players from the state of Michigan, three of them (Southfield-Lathrup's Anthony Johnson-Bradford and Ben Holloway and Oak Park's Isaiah Magee-Robinson) spawning from Oakland County.