FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas might need to increase its budget for face masks this season with senior Kiero Small likely adding some snaps at linebacker to his fullback duties.

Small said he broke more than 20 face masks while playing limited snaps at fullback last season after transferring from Hartnell (Calif.) Community College.

Arkansas Coach John L. Smith said Small — who had one carry and one reception last season with his primary role as a blocker — is too valuable to play just 15 to 20 percent of the time.

“So we’re going to take a look at him playing some linebacker, because that’s a spot that we’re a little bit depthwise not what we’d like to be,” Smith said. “Kiero’s a guy we need to get some double duty out of.”

Small, 5-10 and 250 pounds, was an All-America linebacker in junior college, where he had a combined 229 tackles as a freshman and sophomore.

“Kiero’s just one of those guys that flies to the football and has a knack for tackling,” Hartnell Coach Matt Collins said. “He knows how to time out cadences well and puts himself in position to make it difficult for the offensive linemen to get the first step on him. He knows how to maneuver himself in the trenches and does a great job of filling lanes.”

Two-way players have become a rarity in college football in an era of specialized personnel packages.

“I’m a throwback anyway playing fullback, because most colleges don’t really use a fullback that much anymore,” Small said. “So I guess you can call me a doublethrowback.”

Defensive coordinator Paul Haynes said he’d like to have Small at linebacker “as much as possible” when he’s not working with the offense.

“We just have to figure out the best way to put him in there, the smartest way to put him in there and get him in there and do it,” Haynes said.

Running backs coach Tim Horton said Small has what it takes to play offense and defense in the same game.

“He is the ultimate team player and is as respected as any player on our team in terms of work ethic and commitment to the game,” Horton said.

Small said he’s lost about 5 pounds in anticipation of playing more snaps this season. It doesn’t sound like a big difference, 5 pounds on a 250-pound player.

“If you run around with a 5-pound weight in your pocket, you’ll see the difference,” Small said. “And I actually got stronger in everything.

“Losing the weight helped me get faster, too, or at least feel faster.”

Small said he spent the summer studying the offensive and defensive playbooks and doing running back and linebacker drills.

“After learning the terminology, learning where I’m supposed to line up once they snap the ball, it’s pretty much instincts,” Small said. “I don’t think it’s going to be a difficult move.”

Collins said Small’s ability to aborb information makes him an ideal player to go on both offense and defense.

“I don’t know if you could throw this much information at too many people and they’d be able to comprehend all the details,” Collins said. “I mean, those playbooks aren’t small.”

Collins said he knows Small doesn’t have ideal height and speed for a linebacker, but that didn’t stop Small at Hartnell.

“He does things that some of those guys with all those measurables don’t do — he makes plays,” Collins said. “Ultimately, that’s all that matters.

“Physical toughness isn’t a question with Kiero. He’s a lead-with-your-nose kind of guy and loves that aspect of the game.”

Small said he’s not sure how many face masks he’ll break pulling double duty.

“I don’t have a goal,” he said. “I didn’t set a goal last year, and I had a pretty good tally. We’ll see how it starts to add up.”

Kiero Small at a glance

COLLEGE Arkansas POSITION Fullback/Linebacker CLASS Senior HEIGHT/WEIGHT 5-10/250 pounds HOMETOWN Baltimore HIGH SCHOOL Baltimore Cardinal Gibbons NOTEWORTHY Arkansas’ coaches want to get Small on the field more, so the plan is to also use him at linebacker this season, ... He played linebacker for two seasons at Hartnell (Calif.) Community College and had 220 tackles. ... He played in all 13 gameS last season, including two starts, and was used primarily as a blocker. He had one carry for a 1-yard touchdown run against Mississippi State and caught one pass for 7 yards against Missouri State. ... Also had two kickoff returns last season for 17 yards.

Sports, Pages 21 on 08/04/2012