Arkansas redshirt junior punter Devin Bale has been placed on scholarship, head coach Sam Pittman announced Tuesday.
As a transfer from Northern Colorado, Bale did not see the field last year during his junior season with the Razorbacks.
Bale battled former Hog Max Fletcher in the spring and will be the team's starting punter this year after Fletcher transferred to Cincinnati, but it's worth noting that special teams coordinator Scott Fountain indicated Bale was performing well in the spring and was likely pushing Fletcher to be the starter anyways.
"Devin Bale went on scholarship the same day that we had a scholarship available," Pittman said. "I really have a lot — a lot — of confidence in Devin Bale. We said all last year we had two punters that could punt for most anybody and I really like Devin Bale. He was so grateful when he got the scholarship. As you guys know, I’m not really a flashy guy with that kind of stuff, but he was very happy there."
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In 2021, Bale became Northern Colorado's starting punter as a freshman out of La Jolla High School in La Jolla, California. The Bears play on the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level, and Bale averaged 41.3 yards per punt as a freshman.
As a sophomore for Northern Colorado in 2022, Bale averaged 41.1 yards per punt and he also had 32 touchbacks on 41 kickoff attempts. His season-long punt traveled 71 yards for a touchback against UC Davis on Oct. 22, 2022.
Bale is the Razorbacks' third scholarship special teams player, joining kicker Matthew Shipley, a transfer from Hawaii, and long snapper Eli Stein. According to Pittman, the Hogs are now up to 84 scholarships, which puts them one below the limit of 85.
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"Devin was just, it was kind of a trade," Pittman said. "We usually give three scholarships for special teams whether it be your snapper, your punter and your kicker. So we were trying to stay status quo with that, so once we had a punter (Fletcher) go into the portal we were ready to go with Devin."
Visit HawgBeat's premium message board The Trough for intel on who might be the Razorbacks' late addition to reach the scholarship limit, plus follow along all fall camp with practice reports and updates. Arkansas will begin fall camp with practice No. 1 on Wednesday in Fayetteville.
