Oklahoma specialist Cameron Little got the green light he'd been waiting for on Tuesday, in the form of a full ride scholarship from the University of Arkansas. Little pulled the trigger Wednesday, becoming the 16th member of Sam Pittman's 2021 class and the first high school specialist to commit with a scholarship offer since 2015.
Ranked the No. 2 kicker prospect in the nation by Kohl's kicking, Little chose Arkansas over scholarship offers from Arizona, Army, Navy, Airforce, Nevada, Oklahoma State and, most recently, Colorado.
The Razorbacks' special teams coaches Scott Fountain and Mike Krysl wanted to see Little's leg in person before extending their offer but the pandemic wiped out any chance of that happening. He was able to get on campus in March and he fell in love with what Arkansas had to offer.
"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 the 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.
For the past few months, the coaches took Little through various virtual visits where he was able to talk to the strength and conditioning staff, academic advisors and even former players to get an idea of what it would be like playing on the Hill, and in the SEC.
Programs don't always have specialists on scholarship but the Hogs have room in this class and they will lose their only kicker on scholarship, Duke grad transfer and Lou Groza nominee A.J. Reed, after this season, opening up the door for Little to come in and take over the job for the foreseeable future.
While the Southmoore High School standout is also a nationally ranked punter, he sees his future as a pure kicker.
"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."
While there hasn't been much to admire about Arkansas's special teams over the past several years, Connor Limpert brought stability to the kicking game that fans have become accustomed to, and earned a scholarship. Little has no relation to former Arkansas kicking great Steve Little, but the expectations for him on the Hill will still be sky high.
