Arkansas Razorbacks special teams coach Scott Fountain with the media after Sunday morning's practice outside at the football center on Sunday morning.
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00:08 Coach, just curious about the progress of Max Fletcher. First
00:13 of all, got got a big leg, but he was inconsistent last year.
00:17 Has he made progress in that regard? And what are your
00:19 thoughts on him?
00:19 I think so. He had a really good spring. Really good summer. We
00:23 do a lot of charting in the summer as well. I was really
00:25 proud of him there. Today was our first day at the front line.
00:28 I think I was three points to get what I call an A ball. Second
00:32 ball is a B ball, you know, so two or three were pretty decent
00:35 balls. But I think he's heading the right direction. You know,
00:38 when I was, when I was at Georgia, Jake Kambara was the
00:42 plumber who had that. And Jake was a really good talent coming
00:44 out very much like Max. But his first year at Georgia, he had an
00:49 okay season, but the second year, just off the charts. So
00:53 I'm hoping to see Max do the same. I think that first year
00:56 as a plumber is a really tough, tough task.
00:58 Kickoff man, typically had somebody else kicking off sides
01:04 cam. Who's in contention for that?
01:06 I think, you know, I think we're in a good spot. Cam's had a
01:11 really good spring, summer, and I think the start of fall camp
01:16 has been good. We also have Devin Bale that transferred here
01:20 to come in this spring, I think has a little shot. And then
01:22 Blake Ford's another guy's been on the team for a while. And I
01:26 think all three of those guys are gonna have a real
01:28 opportunity. I've been pleased with that. You know, we've been
01:32 blessed here. We had, you know, Vito here, we had Bates here
01:35 last last few years, it's made a big difference. But I feel
01:39 really good about those three guys, which ones on the field,
01:42 I think they all do a great job, folks.
01:44 In your brothers, would you rather have somebody besides
01:47 Cam kick off this since he's already here on field goals?
01:51 Yeah, you know, honestly, I have no preference on that. I think
01:55 when a kid's a freshman, to be able to come in and kick field
01:58 goals and then take those responsibilities is better. But
02:01 I have no problem with I don't think it, you know, dictates
02:05 your performance one way or the other with field goal. I think
02:08 when you get in the world of field goal kickoffs and finding
02:10 that I think you got to be real careful there.
02:12 But Cam, he's been so good for these first two years with
02:16 accuracy and distance and, you know, how can he get better? Do
02:21 you feel like he is better? And if so, how?
02:23 Yeah, I think you know, what we've talked about from day one
02:27 is being 80% or better. And he's done that the last two years, I
02:30 think he's around 83% in two years. But you know, this year,
02:34 we'd love to get up to hit that number 90. I think if you ever
02:37 can get the number 90 that you can talk about having some
02:40 opportunity for award at the end of the season. But what I like
02:43 about Cam, particularly last year, you know, we missed field
02:46 goal at Texas A&M and then he came right back and just got on
02:49 streak of about I think six or seven field goals in a row.
02:52 That's what he brings to the table. He's a very strong
02:56 minded young man. And I like the way the way he approaches the
03:00 game.
03:00 Special teams often a good time to see freshmen pop any
03:05 freshmen sticking out.
03:05 You know, right now we're really looking for what we call our
03:08 role players, our core players and our 70th man. So kind of
03:13 definitely look at the freshmen but the role players for us are
03:16 guys that may start on offensive defense and then we like to get
03:19 them on teams for one or two years. And then you start
03:22 looking at the core players you want guys that may go they might
03:25 play 18 to 20 stats on offense and defense and then maybe you
03:29 can get them on three or four years. And now 70th man, if
03:32 y'all remember two years ago, we had a Knicks that was on a team
03:35 that was a shield force and that's kind of a guy that you
03:38 know, his role is only special teams and he started for some
03:41 three units that year. So that's kind of how we're breaking it
03:44 down. And but we're really excited about the freshmen and
03:47 transfer and stuff that we have on today.
03:49 From the self scout of last year, what were your areas of
03:53 needed improvement and special teams across the board?
03:56 First of all, kickoff return, you know, kickoff return and
03:59 college football today has really turned into a deal where
04:02 you don't want to hurt your football team number one. So I
04:06 kind of my been my approach last two years, it went like a like
04:09 the Ole Miss game two years ago, 52 51 whatnot, you know, as the
04:13 game went along, I said, we just need to get the ball on 25 and
04:16 help a football team. But but on the second second hand, we've
04:19 done a lot of studying with kale artists all season and we want
04:21 to be more productive there with opportunities we get. And we'd
04:25 like to take a few more opportunities than what we've
04:27 done in the past. You can certainly sit by that fair
04:31 catch them all day with that rule. But we feel like we got
04:33 some guys that have a chance to change the game. And a big big
04:36 part of, you know, Tom, I scout report is all season we want to,
04:41 you know, we did a breakdown, we felt like when we won the field
04:44 position battle on special teams, so our offense was
04:47 getting in a better position, our defense was as well, that we
04:50 won 75% of the game. So that's something we're gonna be real
04:53 conscious of this year to try to help our football team with a
04:57 pump return unit, I kick off the turn unit, etc. But how I think
05:00 you affect the game more than any other unit, obviously, is
05:03 pond and palm tree.
05:04 It seems to us that there's a little more depth position
05:10 across the board. I'm wondering if that factors into view that
05:13 you see like backup linebackers and backup safety guys that come
05:16 to you more often, if you're seeing maybe an uptick in
05:19 athleticism, speed and all that.
05:21 Yes, we certainly have more talent than we've ever had on
05:24 with this since I've been here. So in the past, we've kind of
05:27 pieced things together at times. And this year, I feel like we
05:31 really got some good players. Of course, we picked up a couple
05:34 more guys this summer. So we're still evaluating those as well.
05:37 But I really like you know, we're at with our depth,
05:39 especially the linebackers spot and the skill spot at the
05:43 defensive back position.
05:44 Maybe go over the top candidates and Satania, Stevens and all for
05:50 punt return.
05:51 I feel like punt return, leaving spring, obviously, Bryce
05:55 Stevens, Jalen Braxton is a freshman and moved down. I
05:59 really like him. He's a very fast kid, bigger size kid. And
06:03 also Isaiah Satanga as well. I think all three of those guys
06:06 have a chance for us back there. And we're just kind of see how
06:09 it plays out. When you if you move over to the kit return
06:12 spot, you know, obviously we have AJ back, but I really like
06:15 Isaiah Satanga as well. He's a very good return in high school.
06:20 He played over here at February. My son's had a chance to watch
06:23 him play quite a bit. So but but there's also some other guys
06:26 we're looking at. But it goes back to what you said earlier, I
06:30 think there's gonna be a few more options this year.
06:31 Something on maybe Eli like the background on how you guys got
06:36 him. He's what, up north?
06:38 Yeah, so Eli Stein is a long snapper that's from Wisconsin.
06:43 His dad actually played at Wisconsin. A D lineman that
06:46 convert to a long snapper. And Eli, what I try to do when need
06:52 like a real need for a snapper, I'm gonna try to bring in early
06:55 in the summer, get him up here to camp. And it just so happened,
06:58 the first guy we brought in, it made a stop at a school. And he
07:02 actually got offered and committed that day. So that guy
07:05 was out obviously never made it here. And then Eli came in the
07:08 next day. And obviously, we love the way he ran. We love the way
07:11 he snapped. And that's really, you know, I have to try to
07:15 scour the country and get the best guys we can. We're always
07:17 gonna look in state and the surrounding areas first. But
07:20 then we try to go around the country and find that best best
07:22 player we can find.
07:23 Cam only had 16, I think 16 field goal tries last year. It
07:27 seemed like there was a lot of options to go for it when you
07:29 were in the red zone last year. I know that's not your call. But
07:31 for guys as accurate as him, you think maybe it makes more sense
07:36 to give him more opportunities?
07:37 Yeah, I'm all for it. I know Cam is as well. But I will say so
07:42 much with how your season is going on offense and defense and
07:45 how the flow of the game is going dictates that, you know,
07:48 but obviously that's never my call. But I'd certainly like to
07:52 see it. I think it was fitness talk a little bit more about
07:54 trying to do that this year.
07:55 You mentioned taking opportunities on kickoff return.
07:59 And when you look at like going back to 2010, they outlawed wedge
08:02 blocking 2012. They moved it from the 30 to 35 to have more
08:06 kickoffs going in zone. Then the last rule is the fair catch
08:09 deal. So you get it 25. AJ averaged like 15.6 yards return
08:14 last year. What what is it about that that you think you need to
08:18 take more opportunities when everything's been done to kind
08:21 of discourage it?
08:22 Yeah, I think you know, I think they've done the discouragement
08:26 of the rules really been taking the concussions out of it, which
08:30 I think is a very good thing. I think also, it's like when a
08:34 staff meeting the other day, you know, starting at the 26 and a
08:36 half is so much better than starting at the 25 yard line.
08:40 And I also think that, you know, when you look at numbers like
08:44 kickoff, we've been really good because we have a great
08:48 kickoff guy, right? So you start looking at numbers on kickoff.
08:51 And I mean, guys, I think last year, we had 77 kickoff 70 of
08:55 them were touchbacks and seven that that were not. But when you
09:00 look at stats, we start looking at stats, particularly on
09:02 kickoff coverage, you know, that doesn't play well on your
09:07 favorite always get a 25 yard return. Does that make sense? So
09:10 we want to try to do things to boost that up, you know, but at
09:14 the same time, I think it's been a really good rule. And I think
09:17 we got to be smart, but we got to use it to our advantage.
09:19 From a recruiting standpoint, how do you think things are
09:22 going this year? And I think you're probably don't know your
09:26 view is one of the top recruiters in the class and
09:28 just what's your approach? What do you think? separates you, I
09:32 guess from
09:33 I think we have a lot of good recruiters on our staff. And I,
09:38 for me, I just try to, I really have always worked from who I am
09:42 is try to be a good friend of somebody and talk life lessons
09:45 with them. And, you know, I recruit a lot of different
09:48 areas. But my main I really have tried to focus in Alabama last
09:52 two years, because that's where I'm from. But we also have a lot
09:56 of lot of years of recruiting from Orlando to West Palm, you
09:59 know, and that's kind of where Rocket Sanders comes into play.
10:02 And we don't go down and get a lot of guys, we just try to pick
10:04 up a guy, if we that matches us, it would have interest in coming
10:08 here to Arkansas. But I just think be who you are, you know,
10:11 that's the biggest thing can make you do
10:14 how do you think I know Eli hurt his finger at the end of last
10:17 year. Just I just think his freshman year went over.
10:19 I think went really well. You know, when camp last year, I
10:22 remember calling Eli and I go, Eli, you know, I just, you're
10:26 not communicating with our players like you're not talking
10:29 to our special, he's a real quiet kid by nature. I
10:32 encourage him to start having conversations with those guys
10:34 and can't account I thought was very good without having those
10:36 conversations with him. And because you know, as a young
10:39 guy, you don't really understand what's going on exactly until
10:43 you get inside the first half of the game. But I like the way he
10:46 responded. You know, and I'm from the south, he's from the
10:49 north. So you kind of completely different people. But he comes
10:52 from a really good home, I think has a lot to do with his
10:54 success. Of course, obviously, his dad stopped me in college.
10:57 I can't think any bad snacks he had. I mean, they always say
11:00 about the great thing about a beach snapper is if you don't
11:02 notice him, he's probably doing a good job.
11:04 If you're not saying his name, I'm pretty happy if you're
11:07 saying his name, we got problems. So unless he's making
11:10 a tag when Eli did make two tackles last year, I was
11:12 proud him to solo tackles.
11:14 And then Max, I guess, is here your number one holder now
11:18 three gone.
11:18 Yeah, Max is kind of a story with his holders. It seems to
11:21 happen every year. But every time we take a farm and say,
11:23 hey, you got to learn how to hold nobody wants to know. Max
11:27 last year, we went camp and no everybody avoided Max like the
11:30 play because he couldn't hold he was learning right. So but that
11:34 evolved into it. He was snapping in the ballgame last year and
11:38 camps is one of the best he's ever had. So I don't know if he
11:41 knew how to boost his confidence or it feels that way. But I
11:43 still think that that's just Max working at his trade. Reba
11:47 was saying Bill about three years ago, nobody wanted him
11:50 and he worked his trade got together.
11:51 And who knows, probably your number two holder somewhere
11:56 right now, probably Devin Bale. He's done a good job. He had a
11:59 little bit at his previous institution.
12:01 And reading up on Larko, man, that guy does it all pretty good
12:05 numbers kind of what's the story and him getting here and where
12:09 could he play in the mix?
12:11 So so we always try to be three deep at kicker, punter and
12:14 longsnap. And I know initially you might go, well, I want to
12:17 need that many guys. Well, you go through a season, right? And
12:20 our guy, our one and two guy will always kick on Tuesday,
12:22 Thursday, game day. Well, Monday and Wednesday, you need somebody
12:27 kicking and pointing to your return units kickoff return
12:30 punt return. So that's where they can take a load off set of
12:33 camp kick and Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and go
12:36 three days a week. I really try to that's what I do that. But
12:39 where does Larko fit in? Larko did some really good things at
12:43 UT Martin. And what I like probably best about him was he
12:46 kicked against Tennessee at Tennessee. So he'd been a big
12:48 game. So I wanted to bring in a guy that had been in some games
12:52 and done some good things that we can bring in here. You never
12:55 know about Andrew that Eli got hurt last year. We never want
12:57 that to happen. But when they go down, you just don't want to
12:59 miss a beat like an Ole Miss game. But y'all remember any
13:02 bad snaps? Eli went down about right after halftime, we brought
13:06 in some other people and we didn't miss a beat, right? So
13:08 that's kind of what he's looking for in every position.
13:10 One more. So the mechanics of you know, cams been kicking.
13:15 Eli's got been snapping max head and he says he's have a little
13:19 bit. How did you feel about those three man? You know, team
13:24 from field goals and stuff?
13:27 3d?
13:28 No, no, I mean, those three guys. Yeah, yeah, no. I think
13:32 the more the more than together, the better they become. And I
13:36 think we see we're seeing that man, we come into camp last
13:39 summer and we were rolling snappers. We're trying to see
13:42 who's going to be the snapper roll them all the time. I was
13:44 very frustrating for the holder and the kicker, particularly the
13:48 kicker. But and then we settled in and we just kind of start
13:51 with our three guys through the year. But it's good that they
13:53 went in. They've been together all summer, I would say the bowl
13:56 game he obviously that was Andrew that summer and spring
14:00 summer and then of course fall camp.
14:01 I wanted to follow up on something you said a minute ago
14:04 and I think I understood what you meant but you were talking
14:06 about the touchback percentage and it's seven of them were
14:10 returned. So did your stats show that you were tackling inside
14:13 the 25 on a lot of those? So the question you have is seven we
14:16 return? Yeah, do you want to kick down to the one and maybe
14:19 try to pin people more that what
14:21 yeah, it's kind of what you talk about game plan wise if they
14:24 have a dynamic returner, obviously you want all
14:26 touchback. And then we got a flight you can pin inside the
14:29 25. Same thing, you know, it's all about field position
14:33 battles. So we want to be able to do that. We feel like our
14:37 personnel we've had some years here, I didn't feel good about
14:40 personnel covering. So having a guy kick it out was really a big
14:43 deal. But But obviously, there's so many things you can do on a
14:46 kickoff to dictate field position if you're willing to
14:48 do
14:48 so in other words, you'd be more willing to let's just don't go
14:51 touchback touchback, you'd be more willing to try for more
14:54 pinning this year.
14:55 Yeah, like you love to have a hang time, you know, hang time
14:59 10 to minus 10 to the goal line, let's say and get a chance to
15:02 try to pin this out of 25. You'd love to be able to do that.
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