The Arkansas Razorbacks made their commitment to special teams known when Sam Pittman hired Scott Fountain away from Georgia, and they're continuing to try to elevate the third phase of the game by signing a specialist–on scholarship–for the 2021 class.
One of the top targets for the Hogs is Southmoore (Okla.) kicker/punter Cameron Little. Ranked the No. 2 kicker prospect in the nation by Kohl's kicking, Little has received scholarship offers from Arizona, Army, Navy, Airforce, Nevada and Oklahoma State.
"Recruitment has been going pretty good, it's picked up communication-wise but as far as offers from schools, it's kind of slowed down," Little said. "A lot of schools wanted to see me at camps this summer, so it kind of sucked. Most schools, Arkansas was one of them, wanted to see me kick in front of them before giving me an offer."
Arkansas will graduate former Duke grad transfer kicker A.J. Reed after his one season on the Hill and they don't have any other kicking specialists on scholarship for the 2021 season.
"They've expressed that to me, they're trying to pull a scholarship for a guy in our class, they have a grad transfer that'll play for one year and they're looking for someone to try to come in and compete for that starting spot freshman year," Little said.
"I feel like I'm a big priority there, they call me and send me mail all the time so I take that into big consideration, not every school does that. They just take more time than other schools."
The Oklahoma native took a visit to Arkansas for a Junior Day in March just before the shutdown and was blown away.
"It was crazy," Little said. "First SEC school I'd ever visited. The facilities, a big switch up from the Big-12, the recovery stuff, academics were really cool too, they have the Jerry Jones academic center, which is a lot bigger than at other schools I've seen."
Besides facilities, a big stage to play on and resources, Arkansas's addition of Fountain and analyst Mike Krysl make the Razorback program unique to others on Little's list.
"A lot of schools just have analysts and graduate assistants," Little said. "I know Coach Krysl was a coordinator at Army for 2-3 years, it's awesome to have both of them to have coordinated in the past and it's awesome for Coach Fountain to be able to focus on special teams. It's a big thing I'm looking into.
"Coach Fountain's definitely a great recruiter, we talk at least two times a week. Both of them are really good recruiters. They've taken me through virtual visits, had me on with the academic team, had some former players on to talk about how special teams runs, they've taken me through a lot through the process."
Unlike camps like Rivals, Kohl's Kicking has been able to have monthly showcases–Little's even in Tennessee for one now. They practice and compete in smaller groups with more social distancing, but they've still been able to do a lot more to gain exposure than others around the country. These camps and the results may start to loom larger and larger for Little's scholarship chances since it's unclear when prospects and coaches will be able to meet face-to-face again.
Although Little also punts for Southmoore High, and quite a lot, he envisions himself as a pure kicker at the DI level.
"I could maybe eventually (do both), but I want to start out as just a pure kicker," Little said. "Last year, I averaged 39-40 yards a punt. My best on a field goal is a 65-yarder. I think I hit a 79-yard kick-off through the uprights last season. My longest punt was 64. I was 5-for-7 last year. We've gone 4-26 over the past three seasons, so it's been rough. I think I punted 58 times my sophomore year."
Colorado, Memphis and Kansas are also programs in hot pursuit of Little but, like Arkansas, they continue to hold out on an offer.
