FAYETTEVILLE — A lot of things have gone just right for Zach Hocker.
Hocker, a junior kicker at Arkansas, wasn’t even going to be a Razorback until a high profile commitment decided to go to Texas. That opened up a spot on the 2010 roster for Hocker ... as a punter.
“I almost went to Hawaii,” Hocker said. “Then I was going to come home and go to Arkansas State.”
Being a punter for the Razorbacks was cool enough for Hocker, who was such a good punter at Russellville High School that the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette named him the state’s defensive player of the year. More than anything, Hocker just wanted to suit up for his dream school.
But then-sophomore Dylan Breeding, the Razorbacks’ incumbent punter, easily trounced Hocker in open competition during fall practices. It was a couple of weeks before the Razorbacks’ 2010 opener and Arkansas’ coaches still had settled on a placekicker, so Hocker threw his name in repeatedly in hopes at getting a tryout there.
“That was a crazy, crazy story,” Hocker said. “I wanted to be a Hog forever, and I got my tail whipped at punting. I’m sitting here going, ‘This sucks. I’m not going to get to play.’
“I did beg and beg and beg. I was in the coach’s office a couple of times, ‘Just give me a shot.’ ”
So finally, after one practice in mid-August, Bobby Petrino pulled Hocker aside and told him to be ready to try kicking field goals and extra points the next day.
“I knew I better not mess it up,” Hocker said. “Everything just kind of worked out for me. It was a blessing to get that opportunity.”
He took advantage of it, not flawlessly like in a movie, but well enough he was the surprising starter when the Razorbacks opened against Tennessee Tech. Hocker had a solid freshman season, making all 56 of his extra-point attempts, 16 of 19 field-goal tries and scoring 104 points, fifth-best in school history for a kicker.
His sophomore year was a little less fabulous, but Hocker still scored 118 points on 21 of 27 field-goal attempts and 55 of 57 extra-point tries. The 118 points is the best for a Razorbacks kicker, and his two year total of 222 points puts Hocker 72 behind Bill Burnett for the career scoring mark at Arkansas.
Once, Hocker was almost a Warrior, then almost a Red Wolf, then a backup punter. Now he’s a decent season away from being the most prolific scorer in Arkansas history.
“It would be awesome,” Hocker said. “I want to be an impact player, and if I break that scoring record then obviously I’m doing something right. If I’m putting points on the board, I’m happy with myself, I’m happy with the team.”
Hocker said he knows he has some things to clean up from his sophomore year. He was named SEC special teams player of the week after kicking three field goals against Vanderbilt but made only 6 of 10 in this next three games.
“He has had two great years, and our expectations for him are to just continue to get better and better,” Arkansas special teams coordinator Steve Caldwell said. “Having him makes you feel comfortable to kick a field goal. We feel comfortable putting him out there. Our kids have confidence in him.”
Sophomore holder Brian Buehner said he expects big things from Hocker this year.
“I think Hocker is going to have his best season yet,” Buehner said. “He’s really determined and has great accuracy.”
Hocker doesn’t criticize himself too harshly, but he said he had “five or six” misses too many a year ago.He also blanches at his kickoffs that went out of bounds, including one against Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl that helped the Wildcats have a short touchdown drive.
“I had a couple of misses last year that were kind of doozies,” Hocker said. “You have to stay consistent. I have one set goal which is to win and make every kick.
“I’m not going to take anything for granted. Playing for my home state in this awesome stadium, it’s a dream come true already. If the record comes, that’s just icing on the cake.”
At a glance ZACH HOCKER COLLEGE Arkansas POSITION Kicker CLASS Junior HEIGHT/WEIGHT 6-0/180 pounds HOMETOWN Russellville HIGH SCHOOL Russellville
NOTEWORTHY Ninth on the Razorbacks’ career scoring list with 222 points, 72 points behind running back Bill Burnett, who scored 294 points in 1968-1970. ... Hocker has two of the school’s top five single-season scoring marks. ... Originally recruited as a punter, he won the place-kicking job shortly before the 2010 opener. ... Has made 111 of 113 extra point attempts and 37 of 46 field-goal attempts in two years. ... Was named high school defensive player of the year by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette after averaging 45 yards per punt and having touch backs on 58 of 61 kickoffs.
Sports, Pages 15 on 08/10/2012