ROGERS -- Colin McWhorter may not have played much early last season, but he still made an impression on Rogers High football coach Mike Loyd pretty quickly.
"It wasn't two or three weeks into the season I thought he was as competitive a kid as we had," Loyd said. "I didn't get to see him in the spring because he was in baseball. I didn't really know who he was, but it didn't take long for me to notice. As time went on, I felt like the kid's a winner. He made plays."
Profile
Colin McWhorter
SCHOOL Rogers High
CLASS Senior
HEIGHT 5-feet-9
WEIGHT 165
NOTABLE Leads the team and is one of top receivers in the area with 37 catches for 441 yards and a touchdown. … Rushed for a season-best 106 yards with three TDs in the Mounties’ win over crosstown rival Rogers Heritage last week. … Served as a backup at running back, receiver and in the secondary as a junior. … Racked up 362 yards rushing and 292 yards receiving last year with 10 TDs (seven rushing/three receiving). … Started at catcher last year for a Mounties baseball team that made the state tournament.
7A-West Statistical Leaders
TEAM OFFENSE
TEAM^RUSH^PASS^TOTAL^AVG/GM^
Bentonville West^676^1475^2151^430.2^
Springdale Har-Ber^734^1247^1981^396.2^
Fayetteville^438^1383^1821^364.2^
Bentonville^735^1052^1787^357.4^
Springdale^855^923^1778^355.6^
Rogers Heritage^804^900^1704^340.8^
Van Buren^632^969^1601^320.2^
Rogers High^460^1069^1529^305.8^
TEAM DEFENSE
TEAM^RUSH^PASS^TOTAL^AVG/GM^
Springdale Har-Ber^421^774^1195^239.0^
Springdale^556^897^1453^290.6^
Bentonville^604^901^1505^301.0^
Rogers High^639^1104^1743^348.6^
Bentonville West^456^1317^1773^354.6^
Fayetteville^763^1145^1908^381.6^
Van Buren^993^1158^2151^430.2^
Rogers Heritage^1104^1144^2248^449.6^
The 5-foot-9, 165-pound McWhorter spent most of last season as a backup at multiple positions before emerging as a starter at cornerback. But he's become a favorite target this year of sophomore quarterback Hunter Loyd, ranking among the top receivers in the area with 37 catches for 441 yards and a touchdown.
McWhorter accounted for almost 700 yards (392 rushing/292 passing) last season and 10 touchdowns. He's close to that production (441 receiving/140 rushing) at midseason and that includes missing one game and a portion of another with a concussion.
He may have surprised a few people with his performance this season, but not Loyd. McWhorter got Springdale coach Zak Clark's attention last season, when he came up with 150 yards of total offense and three touchdowns in Rogers' win over the Red Bulldogs.
"Zak said after the game 'I underestimated him. He's a lot better football player than the film does him justice,'" Loyd said.
"That's what he is, he's a football player. You can put him at running back, slot receiver, outside as a wide receiver. I can put him at strong safety or corner. He was like a sixth man in basketball."
McWhorter has turned into a playmaker offensively for the Mounties this season, but his role doesn't stop there. He takes the position as team captain seriously, wanting to continue the path of team success started by last year's seniors.
"When they called me up from the JV team, I wasn't as much a leader but a follower and a listener to those seniors," McWhorter said. "They made it clear to me that they needed me to take over and be a vocal, spiritual and all-around leader. Not necessarily leading with my words all the time as much as my actions."
Loyd said McWhorter has far exceeded those expectations.
"My slogan for over 30 years is 'Team matters most' and he could be the poster child for that for us," Loyd said. "He's genuinely happy when his teammates make a big play. That got my attention. He didn't know anybody was watching. In this day and age, you can't take that for granted. I don't say someone is most valuable, but he's as valuable as any player we have."
Loyd also used a term coined by coaching legend John Wooden of competitive greatness in talking about McWhorter.
He fits the definition perfectly, showing best against better opponents at key moments and helping raise the level of play of his teammates, Loyd said.
McWhorter came up with 11 catches -- several at key moments -- to help Rogers rally late to defeat Siloam Springs in the season-opener this year. Toss in three catches for 102 yards and two scores in last season's win over Springdale High that clinched a playoff berth.
"He's the guy not intimidated," Loyd said. "Matter of fact, he kinda likes it, relishes that competition. He had seven or eight catches against Har-Ber, the best defense in the state in my opinion. He didn't get many yards after the catch, but he wasn't afraid."
The senior has only 140 yards rushing for the season, most of that coming last week against Rogers Heritage. Loyd thought McWhorter would be more effective as a wide receiver early, instead of putting him behind a young, inexperienced offensive line. That proved true to the tune of 37 receptions in only three-plus games.
Anywhere McWhorter has played he's been productive and that turned Loyd's head, along with his solid team-first attitude.
"Fact is, if you have 22 kids with Colin McWhorter's attitude, you wouldn't lose football games," Loyd said.
Sports on 10/06/2017