Razorbacks' Hope Max Fletcher Comes Through in Second Year
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — It's not news Arkansas punter Max Fletcher had wild hits and misses in his first year last year. Special teams coach Scott Fountain has seen it before, but the best people for perspective on specialists is other specialists. They are around each other more than the coaches.
Kicker Cam Little did just that when he talked with the media about Fletcher Sunday afternoon following practice. Kickers and punters hang around each other an awful lot mainly because they have no other choice. They don't do the same things as the rest of the team so they nearly always spend a lot of time together on the field and off it.
"People have got to realize at some point, Max was a guy coming, I don’t know, however many thousand of miles away from a totally different country," Little said. "Never stepped foot on a real football field before and all he had done was prior punting with a thing called Prokick Australia, which they do a great job of preparing their punters and kind of guys transitioning from Australian rules football over to America.
"Guys have got to realize that sometimes, because he had never played a football game in his life. He obviously punted really well last fall camp and deserved to start. I think kind of getting that feel of what college football is like under his belt with Reid taking over midseason, it kind of helped his confidence a little bit. He punted well in the bowl game, had some good punts then."
Fountain has seen first-year players in the same position as Fletcher. Those guys had seen a football field before getting thrown into the spotlight. It's probably magnified a little bit by games in the SEC. They are bigger deals than anything in high school unless you're comparing Vanderbilt and some Texas high schools.
"When I was at Georgia, Jake Camarda was a punter we had there," Fountain said. "Jake was a really good talent coming out, much like Max. His first year at Georgia he had an okay season but his second year was off the charts. So, I'm hoping to see Max do the same. That first year as a punter is a really tough task."
Fletcher also stepped up in the role of holder. He tried it last year and nobody wanted to work with him. The kicker gets the glory and blame, but he's actually the third guy in the chain on extra points and field goals. In simplistic terms, they just swing their leg and kick a piece of leather. It only works if the other two guys do their job. Accordint to Little, that experience probably helped his punting.
"He’s just growing in his consistency, growing in his comfort, getting more confident throughout this past spring and fall camp," Little said. "He’s looking really good. He’s in a better mindset than he was last year as far as confidence goes.
"I think obviously holding has kind of boosted his confidence as well. We were talking after the bowl game after we beat Kansas and he was like ‘Man, that holding on the field, just kind of being on a college football field…’ Feeling that little bit of pressure gives him confidence when he’s going out there. Eli snaps. Eli has been snapping really well so far and getting it right on his hip and I think that’s probably given Max a little bit of confidence, too."
The Hogs open the season Sept. 2 in Little Rock against Western Carolina. The game is not on a network channel and only available on ESPN+.
HOGS FEED:
RAZORBACKS MAY HAVE FOUND MUCH-NEEDED GO-TO WIDE RECEIVER FOR QUARTERBACK KJ JEFFERSON
RAZORBACKS RUNNING BACK AJ GREEN HAS LEARNED TO SLOW DOWN A LITTLE TO MAKE FAST STEPS FORWARD
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