Cameron Little (born August 17, 2003) is an American professional football placekicker for the Jacksonville Jaguars in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Arkansas, where he holds the highest field goal percentage of any kicker in program history and finished his college career without having missed an extra point. He also drew media attention for his charity work with Down Syndrome Connection of Northwest Arkansas, which led to an appearance on Good Morning America. Following his junior season, he declared for the 2024 NFL draft; he was ranked as the top kicking prospect in his class by ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr.

Cam Little
No. 39 – Jacksonville Jaguars
Position:Placekicker
Personal information
Born: (2003-08-17) August 17, 2003 (age 21)
Moore, Oklahoma, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:172 lb (78 kg)
Career information
High school:Southmoore (Moore, Oklahoma)
College:Arkansas (2021–2023)
NFL draft:2024 / round: 6 / pick: 212
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 8, 2024
Field goals made:13
Field goals attempted:14
Field goal %:92.9
Points scored:56
Longest field goal:53
Touchbacks:34
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

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Cameron Little[1] is the son of Ronda and Todd Little and is from Moore, Oklahoma. He was born on August 17, 2003.[2] He played high school football at Southmoore High School, where he played placekicker and punter. He was ranked the No. 1 kicking prospect in his class by 247Sports,[2] the No. 2 kicker and No. 8 punter according to Kohl's Kicking,[1] and a consensus three-star prospect.[2]

Little committed to Arkansas on July 22, 2020.[1] He held offers from multiple other schools, including Air Force, Army, Colorado, Navy, Nevada, and Oklahoma State.[2]

College career

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Little played college football at Arkansas. He was the team's starting placekicker for each of his three seasons,[3] from 2021 to 2023.[4]

During his freshman season, Little earned SEC Freshman of the Week twice and SEC Special Teams Player of the Week once.[2] He made a game-winning field goal against LSU on November 13, 2021,[5] and finished the season having missed only four field goals out of 24 attempts.[4] He was named a Freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America,[6] Pro Football Focus,[7] and The Athletic.[8] His sophomore season saw him convert 13 of his 16 field goal attempts with a long of 51 yards,[9] which he made in the second quarter of Arkansas's game against Mississippi State.[10] His 89 total points ranked most on the team.[2] Prior to the 2023 season, he was named to the Wuerffel Trophy watchlist;[2] he finished that year going 20-for-24 on field goals and making all 33 extra points he attempted.[4] He set a new career long when he converted a 56-yard kick against Ole Miss on October 7, 2023,[11] and was named to the all-SEC First Team as a kickoff specialist.[12]

He finished at Arkansas with a career field goal percentage of 82.8%,[4] the highest of any placekicker in Arkansas history,[13] and made every extra point he attempted.[4] He participated in two bowl games with the Razorbacks: wins over Penn State in the 2022 Outback Bowl[14] and Kansas in the 2022 Liberty Bowl.[15] He made a donation to Down Syndrome Connection of Northwest Arkansas for every kick he made,[3] ultimately totaling $1,460,[16] and was featured on Good Morning America as a result.[2]

Little opted to forgo his senior season and declared for the NFL Draft on December 1, 2023.[3] Mel Kiper Jr., an NFL Draft analyst with ESPN, named Little the top kicking prospect of his draft class.[16] He was one of two kickers invited to play in the East-West Shrine Bowl, alongside Missouri's Harrison Mevis,[17] and made two field goals during the game, one from 26 yards in the second quarter and another from 48 yards in the fourth quarter.[18]

College statistics[2]
Arkansas Razorbacks
Season GP FGM FGA Pct Lng XPM XPA Pct
2021 13 20 24 83.3% 51 46 46 100.0%
2022 13 13 16 81.3% 51 50 50 100.0%
2023 12 20 24 83.3% 56 33 33 100.0%
Career 38 53 64 82.8% 56 129 129 100.0%

Professional career

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span
6 ft 1 in
(1.85 m)
172 lb
(78 kg)
30+12 in
(0.77 m)
9+14 in
(0.23 m)
All values from NFL Combine[19][20]

Jacksonville Jaguars

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Little was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the 212th overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.[21] He is the youngest kicker ever to be drafted into the NFL.[22] Little beat out Riley Patterson early in training camp to be the kicker for the Jaguars in 2024.[23]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Southmoore's Cameron Little commits to Arkansas". The Daily Oklahoman. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. July 23, 2020. p. B5. Archived from the original on February 6, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.  
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Cam Little - K - Bio". Arkansas Razorbacks. March 18, 2021. Archived from the original on January 19, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Hodges, Andy (December 1, 2023). "Cam Little leaving for NFL but Pittman may get headache". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on February 5, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Cam Little - Arkansas Razorbacks Place Kicker". ESPN. Archived from the original on February 5, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  5. ^ Hodges, Andy (November 14, 2021). "'Little Cam' comes up huge with first game-winning field goal". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on July 5, 2022. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  6. ^ Murphy, Tom (January 18, 2022). "UA freshman kicker Little on All-America team". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Archived from the original on January 26, 2022. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  7. ^ Treash, Anthony (December 6, 2021). "The 2021 PFF college football all-true freshman team". Pro Football Focus. Archived from the original on November 21, 2023. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  8. ^ Olson, Max (December 8, 2021). "College football freshman all-America team 2021: C.J. Stroud, Brock Bowers headline the nation's best young players". The Athletic. Archived from the original on September 29, 2023. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  9. ^ Vessels, Chandler (August 13, 2023). "Sam Pittman hints at Cam Little's ability to run fake field goals". On3. Archived from the original on August 14, 2023. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  10. ^ Kirk, Otis (October 12, 2022). "Arkansas falls 40–17 to No. 23 Mississippi State". The Dumas Clarion. Dumas, Arkansas. p. A10. Retrieved February 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.  
  11. ^ Holt, Bob; Murphy, Tom (October 8, 2023). "Another big kick for Little". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Archived from the original on February 5, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  12. ^ "2023 All-SEC football teams announced". Southeastern Conference. December 5, 2023. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  13. ^ Murphy, Tom (December 2, 2023). "Razorbacks kicker Little enters NFL Draft; O-Line coach sacked". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Archived from the original on February 5, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  14. ^ "2022 Outback Bowl Final Statistics". StatBroadcast. January 1, 2022. p. 7. Archived from the original on February 5, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  15. ^ "2022 Liberty Bowl Final Statistics" (PDF). StatBroadcast. December 28, 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 29, 2022. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  16. ^ a b Fuller, Jackson (December 1, 2023). "Arkansas football kicker Cam Little to enter NFL Draft". Southwest Times Record. Archived from the original on February 5, 2024. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  17. ^ Hodgkinson, Oliver (January 18, 2024). "2024 Shrine Bowl rosters: full list of all-star game accepted invites". Pro Football Network. Archived from the original on January 4, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  18. ^ "99th East-West Shrine Bowl - National Football League Game Summary" (PDF). East-West Shrine Bowl. National Football League. February 1, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  19. ^ "Cam Little Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  20. ^ "2024 NFL Draft Scout Cam Little College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  21. ^ Logue, Gus (April 27, 2024). "The pick is in: Jaguars select Arkansas K Cam Little at 212nd overall". Big Cat Country. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  22. ^ Carroll, Simon (May 9, 2024). "3 things to know about Cam Little". bigcatcountry.com. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  23. ^ Logue, Gus (July 29, 2024). "Jaguars waive K Riley Patterson, opening door for Cam Little to start". Big Cat Country. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
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