Wary Becomes Solid Stopper For Rogers

Big 7 Defensive Player of the Year Zack Wary from Rogers High.
Big 7 Defensive Player of the Year Zack Wary from Rogers High.

ROGERS - Rogers High football coach Shawn Flannigan remembers well the day when Zack Wary arrived for off season workouts after the 2010 season.

Wary was not an unknown commidity. He had a solid season for the freshmen Mounties team and his older brother, Nick, was a Mounties quarterback that year.

Wary was also less than halfway to his 15th birthday, but he looked like he could help the Mounties.

“Zack was 6-foot and 160 pounds as a freshman,” Flannigan said.

Not any more. Wary, 17, started the season at 6-4, 215 and when the safety was on the field, the Mounties were very good.

Wary missed four games, two of them Rogers losses, with a sprained ankle but he still managed to finish the year with 79 tackles, including 18 stops in a critical 59-42 victory against Springdale Har-Ber. He had four tackles for losses from his safety position and one interception while picking up more than 10 scholarships offers, including one from Arkansas.

For his effort, Wary is the NWA Media Defensive Player of the Year. In three seasons, Wary fi nished with 193 tackles, including 51 his sophomore season.

“Zack is the poster child for what player development is,” Flannigan said. “You can just look at Zack and see what the weight room, the offseason, can do for a guy. Zack worked hard and got better.”

Wary said it was dift cult watching from the sidelines.

“I worked as hard as I could to get back, hoping that we could make a late season run,” Wary said. “It’s never fun standing there, but the other guys did a good job.”

Wary ended his junior year at just under 6-2 but a growth spurt, and 4.45speed, saw scholarship offers start rolling in last spring.

Arkansas State, Missouri State, Air Force and several smaller schools came first. As the season went on, Arkansas entered with an offer and, Oklahoma State has made an in-home visit. Auburn, and now Boise State, are also expressing interest. Tulsa has also offered Wary a scholarship.

“The weight program that coach Flannigan has here has helped me put on a lot of weight,” Wary said. “I’m still growing but I was able to keep my legs under me and get faster. I’m always putting good things in my body so I can but on lean muscle.”

Wary has taken his oft cial visits to Arkansas and Arkansas State and will take two other trips before making a decision, most likely after the first of the year.

Sports, Pages 7 on 12/29/2013

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