FAYETTEVILLE -- High school kickers don't often get scholarship offers.
Cam Little was an exception.
Arkansas was one of two Power 5 conference teams to offer Little a scholarship along with Colorado his senior season at Southmoore High School in Moore, Okla. There also were offers from Air Force, Army and Navy.
Oklahoma State was among the schools that wanted Little to walk on with the opportunity to earn a scholarship.
"The love the Arkansas coaching staff showed me, it makes me feel important and it makes me feel wanted," Little said in July. "I feel I owe it to them to grind my butt off every day and make sure that I live up to the expectations they have for me as a scholarship kicker."
As high as expectations were for Little going into this season, he might have exceeded them.
Little has scored 100 points, hitting 19 of 23 field goal attempts and being perfect on 43 extra points to help the Razorbacks to an 8-4 record going into their Outback Bowl matchup against Penn State on Jan. 1.
"I was talking to my dad about this the other day." Little said recently. "Back in the summer we were talking about how the season was going to go, what the expectation was, and he said, 'Just go into every game with confidence, and whatever the outcome is, it's going to happen. You're a freshman and this season is going to be a learning experience.'
"Going from that mindset to being one of the top guys in the SEC right now as far as field goal percentage goes, it's kind of crazy."
Little's 82.6% accuracy rate is fourth in the SEC and 21st nationally.
"I'm glad he's a freshman," Razorbacks Coach Sam Pittman said. "I'm glad that he's accountable.
"I don't really question whether he's going to make a field goal or not. I know he hasn't made them all, but he's made almost all of them, especially in key moments."
Little's 37-yard field goal in overtime lifted Arkansas to a 16-13 victory at LSU.
When the Razorbacks beat Mississippi State 31-28 to become bowl eligible, Little hit from 51, 48 and 46 yards. He made four field goals in Arkansas' 40-21 victory over Texas and a 46-yarder against Texas A&M to start the scoring, then a 24-yarder with 8:39 left for the final points in the Razorbacks' 20-10 victory.
"He's a really good pressure guy," Pittman said. "I think it's just the guy's makeup, you know?
"I just know that he's a cool customer and very confident. Our team believes in him, I can promise you that."
Little, rated the No. 1 high school kicker nationally by ESPN and 247Sports, enrolled at Arkansas in January and went through spring practice. He hit 1 for 3 on field goal attempts in a scrimmage open to fans, making a 47-yarder after missing from 29 and 44 yards.
In the Red-White game, Little went 2 for 2, hitting from 20 and 38 yards.
Over the summer, Little said, he worked extensively with snapper Jordan Silver and holder Reid Bauer and they grew more comfortable with each other.
"We got our operation down and finally clicked where we were consistently making field goals," Little said. "That gave me some confidence going into fall camp and the season, and that can carry you a long way.
"That's confidence in having a really good snapper with Jordan, having a really good holder like Reid. We found our rhythm, and when you find a rhythm in your operations on special teams, it's so big."
Little made the SEC's All-Freshman Team. His 19 field goals are tied for fourth-most in a single season by a Razorback and five shy of Kendall Trainor's Arkansas record 24 in 1988.
"I love Cam's season," said Bauer, who also punts. "He's a really confident kid, and I think it's rubbed off on the entire unit, myself included. Cam's just a stud."
In all four of Arkansas' SEC victories, including 34-17 over Missouri, the Razorbacks' first points came on a field goal by Little.
"We know Cam's going to make his kicks count," Arkansas senior offensive tackle Myron Cunningham said. "That's a great asset to the team."
Little's field goals also have been an asset for the Down Syndrome Connection of Northwest Arkansas.
He has donated $10 to the organization for each of his made field goals in honor of his cousin, Ayden Little, who has Down syndrome.
In addition to the $190 Little has donated, he said with matching pledges from others, the total is about $7,000.
"That's huge to know the Northwest Arkansas community is behind me," Little said. "That tells you a lot about the people here."
Little could be handling kickoffs in the Outback Bowl because Vito Calvaruso entered the transfer portal after the regular season ended. Little said he's been competing with Sam Loy on kickoffs in bowl practices.
"I think it's a great competition between both of us," Little said. "Regardless of who wins the job, I think we'll get the job done and put that ball as deep in the end zone as we possibly can.
"We want to make sure we take some pressure off of our kickoff coverage team."
Arkansas special teams coordinator Scott Fountain, who previously held the same position at Auburn and Georgia where his kickers included Daniel Carlson and Rodrigo Blankenship -- now in the NFL with the Raiders and Colts, respectively -- began recruiting Little in the spring of 2020.
"Coach Fountain does a really good job with us," Little said. "He's kind of hard on us sometimes, but it's nice to have a coach like that. It shows how much he cares about you.
"You look at the past specialists he's put into the NFL like Daniel Carlson and Rodrigo Blankenship. I think that's pretty big.
"If he's putting guys into the league, obviously he's doing something right."
Little, 6-2 and 185 pounds, gained about 15 pounds over the summer and said the added weight helped his leg strength.
"In the spring , I was short on a 52-yarder," he said. "I didn't necessarily hit the cleanest ball, but it was still going in if it would have had the distance. It was right down the middle. I just missed it short.
"The 51-yarder I made against Mississippi State, I think I hit the back of the net. So that shows the strides I've made.
"But you can never get complacent and you can never have too big of a leg as a kicker. You can be the top kicker in the NFL and you still want to get stronger and more consistent."
The Link LonkDecember 26, 2021 at 04:50PM
https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2021/dec/26/razorbacks-hit-it-big-with-little/
Razorbacks hit it big with Little - Arkansas Online
https://news.google.com/search?q=little&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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