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The kicking game was a thorn in Arkansas football’s side through the first half of the season. A topsy-turvy position battle this fall saw Kyle Ramsey win the starting job, but Ramsey made just 58.3% of his kicks before a groin injury that could force him to miss the remainder of the season.
Matthew Shipley took over midway through the upset victory over Tennessee, and he might just be steadying the kicking ship for the Razorbacks (5-3, 3-2 SEC). Shipley is 5 for 6 on the season with a long of 51 yards, and he was perfect on all three of his kicks in last week’s 58-25 win over Mississippi State.
Sam Pittman is hopeful an uptick in belief paves the way for a strong close to the season, continuing Saturday against No. 18 Ole Miss (11 a.m., ESPN).
“Well I think part of it last week was the field goal range was significantly shorter,” Pittman said. “It was good because we needed to build confidence in Shipley. He’s had an outstanding week. He went 4 for 4 yesterday at practice. I think just the confidence. You know kickers get in streaks sometimes.”
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Shipley transferred to Arkansas from Hawaii with the grueling challenge of replacing Cam Little, who left school early and is now the starter for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Shipley struggled enough this spring for the Hogs to bring in Ramsey as competition. Eventually, Ramsey overcame a fall injury and won the job, but he never found the consistency at Arkansas that he developed last season at Abilene Christian.
Shipley made 76.7% of his kicks across four seasons at Hawaii, so it was a mild surprise he didn’t claim the starting spot this spring. Pittman said he struggled kicking inside…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/arkansas-football-hopes-kicking-woes-170103602.html
Author : Ft. Smith Southwest Times Record
Publish date : 2024-10-30 17:01:03
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