Five players to Watch in Round 1 of the 7A State Playoffs

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the top teams receiving their much-deserved byes in the initial round, many teams are left scrambling to earn a spot in the quarterfinals. Here are some players who can take over their respective contests on Friday night and earn another week of strapping the cleats on.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='257649' first='Amari' last='Tucker'] | 2024 | Running Back | Fort Smith Southside</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Fort Smith Southside @ Jonesbor</em>o</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With ten weeks of football, [player_tooltip player_id='257649' first='Amari' last='Tucker'] has supremely positioned himself to be one of the best ball totters in the Natural State. Headed into week 10 Tucker was positioned within the top three in yardage and 13th in touchdowns. This special talent boasts four games of 200+ yards paired with multiple scores including a 302-yard, 3 touchdown outburst against Har-Ber. This sweet-feet type of running back will be looking to run wild on the Hurricanes this Friday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>&nbsp;[player_tooltip player_id='303140' first='Harris' last='Vinson'] | 2025 | ATH | Bentonville West</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Fort Smith Northside @ Bentonville West</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A do-it-all talent for the Wolverines of Bentonville West, [player_tooltip player_id='303140' first='Harris' last='Vinson'] has a knack for making plays. Vinson has an innate ability to see where gaps in defenses are and then where to travel to place himself in his quarterback's eyes. Vinson has also shown the capabilities of making big-time catches in the biggest of moments and is the go-to guy for this offense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Defensively, he is dangerous off the edge of formations as he is quick enough to negate any type of ball move that may be made to cause a missed tackle, including rushing passers more feverishly.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='193040' first='Graycen' last='Cash'] | 2024 | Wide Receiver | Rogers&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>North Little Rock @ Rogers</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Rogers Mounties are led primarily by their aerial attack, while they've lacked their star play-makers for much of the season they will enter the playoffs healthy. [player_tooltip player_id='193040' first='Graycen' last='Cash'] (6-3, 180) is versatile in how the Mounties' coaching staff uses his alignment, with his large frame he can take advantage of numerous height mismatches from the slot while also using his great catch radius on the outside to "Moss" many defenders.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='248892' first='Mabry' last='Verser'] | 2024 | Wide Receiver | Rogers</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>North Little Rock @ Rogers</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='248892' first='Mabry' last='Verser'] (6-4, 210) is one of the largest receivers in the state and uses that size at will on the outside of the field. Verser is a receiver that simply just takes advantage of 1v1 coverage when left out on an island. Verser's attributes of size, speed, and catch radius make him a threat and a key for defenses to stop if they hope to have success against the Mounties' offense. The only issue is once you key on one of these play-makers, the other will benefit.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='180373' first='Jace' last='White'] | 2025 | Wide Receiver | North Little Rock</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>North Little Rock @ Rogers</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Entering the season [player_tooltip player_id='180373' first='Jace' last='White'] (6-3, 185) was on my small list of players that are must-see talents within the state. Grouped with speed, wide catch radius, route running, and the true "alpha" mentality, there are no weaknesses in White's game. White is a primed talent who has shown potential to win plays regularly and drive possession of his own will.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->