FAYETTEVILLE — University of Arkansas kicker Cam Little was chosen as the SEC freshman of the week after he made 3 of 4 field goals in Saturday’s 31-28 victory over Mississippi State.
Little, from Moore, Okla., is the first Arkansas kicker since at least 1979 to make three field goals of 45-plus yards in the same game after he hit from 46, 48 and 51 yards against the Bulldogs.
His 51-yard field goal in the third quarter was the longest for an Arkansas freshman since Zach Hocker connected from the same distance against South Carolina in 2010.
Little leads all FBS freshmen with 14 made field goals, which takes his donation up to $140 for Downs Syndrome Connection of Northwest Arkansas, to which he is donating $10 for every made field goal.
Little earned praise for rushing over to console Mississippi State kicker Nolan McCord just after he missed a game-tying 40-yard field goal on the final play.
“I thought it was awesome,” Coach Sam Pittman said. “I didn’t know anything about it until social media afterwards or yesterday or whenever it was. That just shows you what kind of guy Cam Little is. And I’m glad he’s on our team.”
Little has made 14 of 18 field-goal tries and his 75 points ranks sixth in the SEC, 35th in the country and fourth among SEC kickers behind Georgia’s Jack Podlesny (84), Texas A&M’s Seth Small (81) and Alabama’s Will Reichard (79).
Personnel report
Running backs Trelon Smith and Josh Oglesby and offensive lineman Jalen St. John were not spotted at Monday’s practice in spider pads on the UA practice fields outside Walker Pavilion.
Smith, the team’s leading rusher with 476 yards, played a backup role to sophomore Dominique Johnson in last week’s win over Mississippi State and finished with 17 yards on five carries.
Johnson compiled his first 100-yard game as a Razorbacks and moved up to 416 rushing yards, behind Smith, Raheim Sanders (460) and quarterback KJ Jefferson (433).
St. John missed the Arkansas-Pine Bluff game on Oct. 23 due to an illness, and was not dressed out for the Mississippi State game last week.
Nuss will play
LSU Coach Ed Orgeron announced backup quarterback Garrett Nussmeier would get playing time behind Max Johnson against the Razorbacks on Saturday.
“This week we’re going to let Max start, but we’re going to put in Garrett,” he said. “Garrett’s going to get some plays. I’ve already talked to him. And we’re going to let the best man win. … The guy who plays the best is going to end up playing the most.”
Johnson, a left-hander and the son of former NFL quarterback Brad Johnson, had made all nine starts this season and has completed 178 of 296 passes (60.1%) for 2,169 yards with 22 touchdowns, 6 interceptions and a 142.2 efficiency rating.
Nussmeier, the son of Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier, is a true freshman who has completed 11 of 26 passes (42.3%) for 150 yards with 1 touchdown and no interceptions.
Tube talk
Arkansas’ road game at Alabama on Nov. 20 has been selected by CBS Sports for its national 2:30 p.m. kickoff slot.
The Razorbacks have played two previous games on CBS this season, their 20-10 win over Texas A&M in Arlington, Texas, and their 38-23 loss to Auburn.
Arkansas will finish up the year on CBS against Missouri on Nov. 26.
On scholarship
Coach Sam Pittman confirmed two special teamers have been placed on scholarship during the course of the season.
Punter Reid Bauer and kickoff man Vito Calvaruso have been given scholarships, which count retroactively, meaning their expenses for the fall semester count toward the grant in aid.
Bauer is averaging 42 yards on 35 punts this season, including 17 fair catches and 8 inside the 20.
Calvaruso’s touchback percentage fell back to 82.8% (48 of 58) after Mississippi State had three returns last week. He is 10th in the country in that department after reaching eighth last week at 86.3%.
Sam’s the man
LSU Coach Ed Orgeron lavished praise on Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman during the opening of his weekly news conference Monday.
“Sam Pittman is a great coach, a great offensive line coach,” Orgeron said. “I’m so glad to see the job that he’s doing at Arkansas. I’m happy for him. He’s a good man. He’s a hard-working man.”
Bowl picks
In this week’s bowl projections, 247Sports has the Razorbacks traveling to Tampa, Fla., to face Iowa in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1.
CBSSports.com’s Jerry Palm has the Hogs slated to face Penn State in the Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tenn., on Dec. 30.
Athlon Sports is also projecting a Music City Bowl berth for the Razorbacks with Iowa as their opponent.
Yahoo! Sports is now projecting the Razorbacks to face Wake Forest in the Gator Bowl on Dec. 31 in Jacksonville, Fla. The Demon Deacons were 8-0 before being upset 58-55 at North Carolina last week.
Morgan pick
Linebacker Grant Morgan made a self-deprecating reference to his interception Saturday, acknowledging he let a few picks get through his hands the past couple of years.
“I’m glad I caught this one instead of the ones in the past,” Morgan said.
The super senior’s only previous interception was a huge one, a 23-yard pick six that sealed Arkansas’ 33-21 win over Ole Miss last season.
Morgan’s interception at the Arkansas 31 on Saturday ended a 10-play, 54-yard march that had reached the Hogs’ 37.
“In our zone that we were running that play, I was matching off the back and getting depth,” Morgan said. “Our D-line did amazing. They got him out of the pocket and they got pressure on him, better than what we’ve done. So it pushed him out, and he started scrambling.”
Morgan said Arkansas’ scramble drills had typically called for the Mike linebacker to chase the quarterback at that point. This time, the nickel back had that role.
“This week we knew he didn’t want to run it as much, so we stayed back and stayed patient,” Morgan said. “If you watch the play, if I didn’t pick it, I knew there were two guys behind me that were going to. I think it was Busta [Montaric Brown] and Sim [Simeon Blair]. He didn’t see me because he probably didn’t expect me to be there. I was just reading his eyes.”
‘Better team’
LSU Coach Ed Orgeron said at his Monday news conference that he loved LSU’s mindset to win last Saturday’s game, a 20-14 loss at No. 2 Alabama.
“I really thought we were the better team that night,” he said, “and I still feel that way after watching the film. Just a couple of plays short.”
Davis intel
LSU offensive line coach Brad Davis is considered a Sam Pittman protege and was the first assistant coach to join his staff. When an opening came up on Ed Orgeron’s LSU staff in June, Davis couldn’t resist the call to return to his hometown and took the job well after spring practices for both schools.
“We know what hurt them when he was here as far as our defense goes,” Pittman said when asked to evaluate how Davis’ knowledge of the Razorbacks could impact Saturday’s game.
“What might have caused problems for the offensive line when he was coaching here. He’ll know our personnel, even our new guys for the most part, except for big [John] Ridge[way]. He knows [Markell] Utsey obviously from being at Missouri and he knows Tre [Williams]. … So he’ll know where, at least in their mind, they want to try to attack us.
“So I don’t know that it gives either team much of an advantage to he honest with you.”
The Link LonkNovember 09, 2021 at 03:03PM
https://www.wholehogsports.com/news/2021/nov/09/little-earns-respect-and-sec-honor/
Little earns respect and SEC honor - WholeHogSports
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