Arkansas lands punter Connor Smith for Class of 2026

FAYETTEVILLE — Chitwood (Va.) Class of 2026 punter Connor Smith has verbally committed to Arkansas.

Smith, 6-3, 180, is the No.9-rated punter in the Class of 2026 by Kohl’s Kicking. Here’s Kohl’s comments about Smith at his profile page.

“Smith is a scholarship level punter, and he showed once again at the 2025 Southern Spring Showcase, Power 4 talent. He scored 110.88 points in the pocket punting and hit some of the biggest punts at camp. His biggest charted punt was 68 yards with 5.01 seconds of hang time. He has long levers and elite leg and hip talent. Smith also impressed at the 2024 Kohl’s Southern Showcase. He has the frame and leg talent to develop into the top punter in his class. His “A” ball is in a league of its own. Continuing to focus on keeping his steps short and speeding up his operation will be vital for his continued success. He flashed excellent upside in his field goals and kickoffs as well. He scored 10 points in the field goal charting and had a kickoff score of 106.70. His big ball on punts was 50 yards with 5.26 seconds and he connected with several 5.0+ second punts in the drill work portion of camp. Smith competed at the 2023 Kohl’s National Scholarship Camp. He had an excellent showing for his first ranking event and he displayed college level combination ability. He struck the ball well on field goals and commanded his “A” ball well throughout the camp. His combined total on field goals was 21 points. His biggest charted kickoff at camp was 67 yards with 3.46 seconds of hang time.”

Arkansas’ starting punter is Devin Bale, a redshirt senior. Freshman Gavin Rush is also on the roster.

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Click here for his commitment tweet.