Cameron Little (born August 17, 2003) is an American professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
placekicker
In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...
for the
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...
in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL). Little played
college football
College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
for the
Arkansas Razorbacks
The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville. The University of Arkans ...
, where he holds the highest
field goal
A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...
percentage of any kicker in program history and finished his college career without having missed an
extra point
Extra, Xtra, or The Extra may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Film
* The Extra (1962 film), ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film
* The Extra (2005 film), ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film
Literature
* Extra (newspaper), ...
. 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
''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...
''. Following his junior season, he declared for the
2024 NFL draft
The 2024 NFL draft was the 89th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft was held at Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza in Detroit on April 25–27, 2024. The draft had an attendanc ...
; he was ranked as the top kicking prospect in his class by
ESPN
ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
analyst
Mel Kiper Jr.
Mel Kiper Jr. ( ; born July 25, 1960) is an American analyst covering football for ESPN. Kiper has appeared on ESPN's annual NFL draft coverage since 1984. He has been widely credited for establishing mock drafting and is regarded as one of t ...
Early life
Cameron Little
[ ] is the son of Ronda and Todd Little and is from
Moore, Oklahoma
Moore is a city in Cleveland County, Oklahoma, United States, and is part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. The population was 62,793 at the 2020 census, making Moore the seventh-largest city in the state of Oklahoma.
Located between Okl ...
. He was born on August 17, 2003.
He played high school football at
Southmoore High School
Southmoore High School is an American four-year public high school located in the southern part of Moore, Oklahoma. Southmoore High School opened in the 2008–2009 academic year. The school is headed by one head principal, and 4 class principal ...
, where he played placekicker and
punter. He was ranked the No. 1 kicking prospect in his class by
247Sports
247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on college recruiting, athletic recruitment in college football and college basketball, basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount Global, Paramount.
The website hosts a large ...
,
the No. 2 kicker and No. 8 punter according to Kohl's Kicking,
and a consensus three-star prospect.
Little committed to Arkansas on July 22, 2020.
He held offers from multiple other schools, including
Air Force
An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...
,
Army
An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
,
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
,
Navy
A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
,
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
, and
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...
.
College career
Little played college football at
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
. He was the team's starting placekicker for each of his three seasons,
from 2021 to 2023.
During his freshman season, Little earned
SEC Freshman of the Week twice and SEC Special Teams Player of the Week once.
He made a game-winning field goal against
LSU
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...
on November 13, 2021, and finished the season having missed only four field goals out of 24 attempts.
He was named a Freshman All-American by the
Football Writers Association of America
The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media out ...
,
Pro Football Focus
Pro Football Focus (also written as ProFootballFocus, and often referred to by its initials, PFF) is a sports analytics company that focuses on thorough analysis of the National Football League (NFL) and NCAA Division-I football in the United Sta ...
, and ''
The Athletic
''The Athletic'' is a subscription-based sports journalism department of ''The New York Times''. It provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories ...
''. His sophomore season saw him convert 13 of his 16 field goal attempts with a long of 51 yards, which he made in the second quarter of Arkansas's game against
Mississippi State
Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. It is classified among "R ...
. His 89 total points ranked most on the team.
Prior to the 2023 season, he was named to the
Wuerffel Trophy
The Wuerffel Trophy is an award given annually to the college football player "who best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement." The trophy, designed by W. Stanley Proctor and named in honor of former Univers ...
watchlist;
he finished that year going 20-for-24 on field goals and making all 33 extra points he attempted.
He set a new career long when he converted a 56-yard kick against
Ole Miss
OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to:
* Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain
* Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole
* Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains
Co ...
on October 7, 2023, and was named to the all-
SEC First Team as a kickoff specialist.
He finished at Arkansas with a career
field goal
A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...
percentage of 82.8%,
the highest of any placekicker in Arkansas history, and made every
extra point
Extra, Xtra, or The Extra may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Film
* The Extra (1962 film), ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film
* The Extra (2005 film), ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film
Literature
* Extra (newspaper), ...
he attempted.
He participated in two bowl games with the Razorbacks: wins over
Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...
in the
2022 Outback Bowl and
Kansas
Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
in the
2022 Liberty Bowl. He made a donation to Down Syndrome Connection of Northwest Arkansas for every kick he made,
ultimately totaling $1,460,
and was featured on ''
Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...
'' as a result.
Little opted to forgo his senior season and declared for the
NFL draft
The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...
on December 1, 2023.
Mel Kiper Jr.
Mel Kiper Jr. ( ; born July 25, 1960) is an American analyst covering football for ESPN. Kiper has appeared on ESPN's annual NFL draft coverage since 1984. He has been widely credited for establishing mock drafting and is regarded as one of t ...
, an NFL Draft analyst with
ESPN
ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
, named Little the top kicking prospect of his draft class.
He was one of two kickers invited to play in the , alongside
Missouri
Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
's
Harrison Mevis, 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.
Professional career
Jacksonville Jaguars
Little was selected by the
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...
in the sixth round with the 212th overall pick in the
2024 NFL draft
The 2024 NFL draft was the 89th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft was held at Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza in Detroit on April 25–27, 2024. The draft had an attendanc ...
. He is the youngest kicker ever to be drafted into the NFL.
Little beat out
Riley Patterson
Riley Patterson (born September 7, 1999) is an American professional American football, football placekicker, kicker. He played college football for the Memphis Tigers football, Memphis Tigers and has previously played in the NFL for the Detro ...
early in training camp to be the kicker for the Jaguars in 2024.
He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team.
References
External links
Jacksonville Jaguars bioArkansas Razorbacks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Little, Cam
2003 births
Living people
American football placekickers
People from Moore, Oklahoma
Arkansas Razorbacks football players
Players of American football from Oklahoma
Jacksonville Jaguars players