By Otis Kirk
FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas returns one of the nation's top kickers in Cam Little who will be entering his junior season.
Little is one of the most reliable kickers in the SEC and country. In 26 games, Little has made 33 of 40 field goals with a long of 51. He has been perfect on all 96 point after touchdowns. On Sunday, Little talked about what he has worked on the most this offseason.
"I think just kind of keeping my ball flight consistent," Little said. "Freshman year I had a pretty good ball flight, it was pretty straight. It didn’t have a lot of movement on it. I think that kind of was why it led to a lot of success on some kicks that were longer, because the longer you can keep the ball straight — I mean obviously the kicks are going to fly straight off if you go in the uprights …. I want to continue on that.
"A lot of NFL kickers, that’s what separates a lot of guys … You can be a good college kicker and they’ll be some variation in your ball flight as long as it goes in. But those NFL guys keep that ball straight for such a long time, and that’s really what I’m trying to achieve. Is just keeping that ball flight straight."
Scott Fountain is the coordinator for the special teams. Fountain said Sunday how he feels that Little can improve.
"What we've talked about from Day 1 is to be at 80 percent or better," Little said. "He's done that the last two years. I think he's at about 83 percent in two years, This year, we'd love that number to get up and hit 90. I think if you can ever get the number to 90 you can talk about some opportunities for awards at the end of the season. What I like about Cam, last year we missed a field goal at Texas A&M, and he came right back and got on a streak of about six or seven field goals in a row. That's what he brings to the table. He's a very strong-minded young man, and I like the way he approaches the game."
Little agrees that is a realistic goal for him and one he's striving for this season.
"I always write notes to myself or goals on a white board in my room, and 90% is on that," Little said. "Obviously to be an elite guy, to be up for the Lou Groza Award, you want to be at that 90% …. Because most guys that aren’t at 90% aren’t going to be able to achieve that award.
"So that’s a definitely goal of mine. Mainly staying consistent inside the 40 is another big goal of mine. I think I’ve had a pretty good outcome with kicks inside the 40. I think I’ve missed one my freshman year at Georgia inside of 40. So I want to continue that obviously … And continue making those kicks from 50 plus. I was 2 of 3 last year with one miss being against South Carolina. I just want to keep progressing and get that percentage higher and higher each year. So 90% is definitely the goal."
In 2022, Little was successful on 13 of the 16 field goal attempts. Arkansas went for it more on fourth down than maybe they had in past and thus limited his attempts.
"Obviously the more attempts the better," Little said. "I’m obviously leaning toward that. But I think the decisions to go for it on fourth down … it was what was best for our team at the time, trying to get some momentum going.
"We had some good opportunities in games to try to take some momentum away from the other team by going for it. So I could see why we went for them. Whatever Coach (Sam) Pittman and the OC go with, I’m backing them 100%, because I want our team to succeed."
This year the snapper will once again be Eli Stein while punter Max Fletcher is the holder. Little likes the chemistry with the trio.
"It’s going good," Little said. "It’s good that I know that both the guys I’m working with every day are trying to achieve elite level. Obviously, Max’s brother is at Cincinnati, and he wants to be better than him every day holding, punting, you know just going toward his craft. So, I know he wants be at an elite level. Just competing with, obviously guys on our team, the other punters, for the spot, and other guys for the holding spot.
"I just like that they’re taking their craft to a serious level because at some places specialists are kind of overlooked. You just go do what you want to do. And there’ll be guys that kind of fall under that. ‘Okay, I’m good being average,’ but both the guys here — especially Eli and Max — really take their craft to a different level. I knew Eli was pretty high ranked coming out of high school, so I knew he was going to try to be at an elite level. There’s a lot of pressure going in for guys that are on scholarship, especially specialists, to kind of perform. Eli rose to that level, and he’s an elite snapper."
With Jake Bates off to the NFL the Hogs will need a new kickoff specialist. Fountain threw Little's name into the mix for that.
"I think we're in a good spot," Fountain said. "Cam has had a really good spring, summer and I think the start of fall camp has been good. We also have Devin Bale who transferred here this spring who has a real shot. Then Blake Ford is another guy who has been on the team for a while. I think all three of those guys are going to have a real opportunity. I'm pleased with where they're at. We've had Vito here, and we had Bates last year. They made a big difference. But I feel really good about those three guys, and whichever one is on the field can do a great job for us."
Fountain was asked if he's comfortable adding those duties to Little?
"Honestly, I have no preference on that," Fountain said. "When a kid is a freshman, to be able to come in and kick field goals and then take away those responsibilities is better. But I have no problem with it. I don't think it dictates your performance one way or the other with field goal. I think in the world of field goal, kickoffs and punting, you have to be real careful."
Fountain threw out a lofty statement that pertained to the entire team, not just the specialists.
"Yes, we certainly have more talent on the team than we’ve ever had had since I’ve been here," Fountain said. "In the past we kind of pieced things together at times. This year I feel like we’ve really got some good players and of course we picked up a couple of more guys this summer so we’re still evaluating those as well. I really like where we’re at with our depth, especially the linebacker spot and at the skill spots at the defensive back position."
Fountain also identified the return candidates. Last season Bryce Stephens handled the punt returns and AJ Green bringing back kickoffs.
"I feel like punt return, leaving spring, obviously we’ve got Bryce Stephens," Fountain said. "Jaylen Braxton is a freshman. I really like him. He’s a very fast kid. A bigger kid. And obviously Isaiah Sategna as well. I think all three of those guys have a chance for us back there. We’ll just see how it plays out.
"If you move over to the kick returner spot, obviously we have AJ back. But I really like the guy Isaiah Sategna as well. He was a very good returner in high school. He played over at Fayetteville High. My son’s had a chance to watch him play quite a bit. But there’s also some other guys that we’re looking at. It goes back to what you said earlier: I think there’s going to be a few more options this year to choose from."
Arkansas opens the season on Saturday, Sept. 2, in Little Rock at 3 p.m. against Western Carolina.
Photos Courtesy of Craven Whitlow CW3 Action Sports
Razorback freshman wide-receiver and punt returner Isaiah Sategna (#16) from Fayetteville, AR runs an out pass pattern at practice Saturday morning at the Willard & Pat Walker Pavilion in Fayetteville, AR.
Razorback Assistant Head Coach & Special Teams Coordinator Scott Fountain directs his special teams during the Hogs' practice Sunday morning at the Willard & Pat Walker Pavilion in Fayetteville, AR.
