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FAYETTEVILLE — Of all the special teams units, Scott Fountain believes punt return has the potential to be the biggest “game changer” at any given moment.
That is why the Arkansas special teams coordinator said he always tries to find a good player to put back there at punt returner. Young speedsters like Bryce Stephens and Chase Lowery, plus the sure-handed Nathan Parodi, have gotten a look, but it sounds like Greg Brooks Jr. has emerged as the top candidate.
It’s a surprising development considering Brooks hasn’t been in the mix the last couple of years and wasn’t even among the group fielding punts during spring ball, but he actually approached Fountain over the summer about increasing his load on special teams.
With a father who spent a couple of years in the NFL, Brooks told the coach he wanted to play on all four units - on top of his duties as the starting nickel back. He also let Fountain know that he returned punts in high school.
“We're not going to play him on all four units - we can’t, I told him that,” Fountain said. “But he also enlightened me and said, 'Coach, I can catch the ball, I want to return punts.' So we started working this summer and it's been a good pickup for us.”
Had it not been for an injury early in his time in Fayetteville, Brooks might have been a candidate to return punts when he first came to Arkansas as a four-star recruit in the Class of 2019, but he’s relishing the opportunity now as he enters his junior season.
“It’s going really well,” Brooks said. “I’m getting back adjusted to it. I thought about it when I first came here, but then I broke my thumb, so just getting back in the flow of it.”
Fountain said the No. 1 thing head coaches look for in a punt returner is someone who can catch the football, but he prefers someone who can be dynamic once they catch it - even if it means not having the most sure-handed guy back there.
“That is the most important thing, but I also feel like your best punt returners are guys that are a little bit dangerous back there,” Fountain said. “They might not field it was well as the other guy, but they're going to be a difference-maker when they touch the football. That's what we're trying to find in that position.”
Figuring out who can be dynamic in the return game is difficult because most coaches don’t want to go live in practice out of fear for injuries.
Head coach Sam Pittman said he and his staff discussed it during one meeting, but those discussions didn’t last very long. Instead, Fountain has had to get creative in practice.
“We try to do things that make the kids feel like there's pressure around them, so when you catch a punt, you can have people whacking at them with bags,” Fountain said. “We have…some competitive drills that we do to try to have some battles going on with four on four and have guys in their face and stuff, and really focus on fielding the football.”
The hope is that Brooks will be that guy for the Razorbacks. He does have a 69-yard interception return for a touchdown, doing so against Mississippi State last year to snap Arkansas’ 41-game pick six drought.
If he can manage to do the same as a punt returner, Brooks would end another lengthy drought for the Razorbacks. They haven’t had a punt return for a score since Joe Adams did it against Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl following the 2011 season - a span of 109 games, making it the ninth-longest active drought in the FBS.
Adams, of course, was the best punt returner in UA history. He had five career punt return touchdowns, including arguably the greatest in college football history against Tennessee. It’s a clip that Fountain has shown the team as an example of what Arkansas could be on that unit.
“We want to get back to that,” Fountain said. “It's been a long time since the University of Arkansas has had a punt return for a touchdown. We talk about that. We want that to happen, and hopefully that will happen this year for us."
