Name: Varney Larson
The rundown: Larson is a 5-foot-7-inch, 180-pound senior at Mountain View.
Who he is: Matt Johnson, who is starting his first season at Mountain View, has been coaching for 20 years and said Larson is in the top 2% of athletes he’s coached over the years. Johnson said he believes the running back and defensive back could be an all-conference, all-state type of player.
“He’s definitely got some quickness and some explosiveness that is rare — very, very rare,” Johnson said.
While Larson said he doesn’t have any personal goals in mind for his senior season, he’s been working hard to get to this point in his career. Now that he’s starting his final season at Mountain View, he wants to make sure to work hard to be able to do his part to help the team succeed.
He’d also like to be the first member of his family to receive a college athletic scholarship. Although he hasn’t received any offers yet, Varney said he has been talking to a couple of colleges and hopes to find a school to play at soon.
“That would be really important for me,” Larson said about accomplishing his goal. “It’s a big dream.”
Proof he’s good: Larson had 387 rushing yards on 42 carries for eight touchdowns and added 390 yards on 28 receptions while scoring three times.
He said it: “He’s definitely an explosive player. He’s got some amazing abilities. The kids really respect how talented he is and I think we’re all excited to see what he can do this year. I mean, it’s his senior year – big year. We’ll see if he can handle being a leader. That’s a question that every senior needs to address. It’s one thing to be talented when you’re a junior or sophomore, but every senior, when it’s their senior year, that role changes.” — coach Matt Johnson
