Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman has a rebuilt team and a new-look staff entering his fifth year leading the program, and the 2024 edition of the Razorbacks have the task of improving on rough 4-8 season in 2023.
For the second year in a row, the Hogs lost more than 20 players to the transfer portal, which resulted in them having to utilize the portal to their advantage.
Additions such as quarterback Taylen Green (Boise State), running back Ja'Quinden Jackson (Utah) and left tackle Fernando Carmona Jr. (San Jose State) seem primed to have solid seasons under first-year offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino.
Leading the other side of the football is second-year defensive coordinator Travis Williams, who also added talent such as defensive end Anton Juncaj (Albany), linebacker Xavian Sorey Jr. (Georgia) and defensive back Doneiko Slaughter (Tennessee), among others.
One position group that didn't need to be addressed much was defensive tackle, which is headlined by redshirt junior Cameron Ball out of Tri-Cities High School in Atlanta. The 6-foot-5, 315-pound interior rusher is a player HawgBeat is tabbing as a breakout candidate for 2024.
Ball has put together back-to-back solid seasons under defensive line coach Deke Adams, but he's also been competing with a handful of new transfers each season. Arkansas did add BYU transfer Danny Saili in the portal post-spring, but that was it, and it was likely a testament to how the coaches feel about the talent they returned at the position such as Ball, Eric Gregory, Keivie Rose and others.
Last season, Ball logged career-highs with six starts and 32 tackles. He also added 1.5 tackles for loss and half a sack, which came in the Sept. 23 loss at LSU. His 73.4 Pro Football Focus grade for the season ranked second among the Razorbacks' defensive tackles, just behind Gregory (74.7).
Ball has graded out well across his career, but especially over the past two seasons, in which he's combined to play 656 total snaps. He posted career-best grades in run defense (75.7), tackling (66.6) and pass rushing (63.4) last year.
"I think he’s taken his game to another level," Travis Williams said April 4. "Coach Adams does a really good job with the whole front four, coaching those guys and getting those guys prepared. You could see the growth from last year, starting with Cam Ball."
While it's unlikely that Ball is going to rack up the attractive sack and tackle for loss numbers, it is likely that he will be a force on the interior that opposing offensive linemen will struggle to keep in front of them. He moves really well for his size and had a great spring.
"The guy up front that’s playing exceptional is Cam Ball," Pittman said April 9. "You guys (that) have been at practice (have seen) him all over the place."
Arkansas will open its 2024 season on Thursday, Aug. 29, against UAPB at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT and the game will be broadcast on ESPNU.
