WHO MADE THE LIST?

With an offer list that includes plenty of SEC flavor, Bentonville West senior Jadon Jackson headlines the 2018 selections on The List.

The sports staff of the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and consultation with area coaches selected the top 11 players in the 12-county region in the newspaper’s coverage area.

Jackson holds offers from 14 Division I colleges including Arkansas, Auburn, Ole Miss, Missouri and Oklahoma State, who are his top five. He plans to make his commitment during the upcoming season.

The List is loaded with an abundance of talented players, many on the radar of college coaches. The players selected for The List were not chosen by position, but simply the top 11 players regardless of where they line up on the field.

There are four quarterbacks on The List, each bringing a different skill set to the field. Fort Smith Southside’s Taye Gatewood and Bentonville West’s Will Jarrett are dual-threat quarterbacks who can do almost as much damage with their legs as they can their arms.

Darius Bowers has a cannon for a right arm that accounted for more than 3,000 yards last season, and Booneville’s Brandon Ulmer is a punishing runner who not only led his team in rushing but had 43 tackles as a safety. Greenwood’s do-it-all Peyton Holt piled up incredible numbers as a junior as Connor Noland’s top receiver and Gabe Huskey dominated the 5A-West as a sophomore back in his first varsity season.

Stevie Young of Fort Smith Northside is the only lineman on The List, but the soft-spoken offensive tackle lets his play on the field do his talking.

Linebackers Andrew Bartgis of Bentonville High and Tristin Brewer of Pea Ridge are dominating defenders with high character and with even higher motors who their teammates look to for leadership.