Arkansas specialist to miss 2026 season with injury
Arkansas punter Connor Smith will miss the 2026 season because of an injury, head coach Ryan Silverfield disclosed on Tuesday evening before the All-In Roadshow in Fayetteville.
Smith missed the entirety of spring practice. It was not disclosed what kind of injury Smith suffered. Silverfield indicated during the All-In Roadshow event that redshirt freshman Gavin Rush would be the starting punter this season.
A true freshman from Clintwood, Virginia, Smith was rated the No. 9 punter in the nation in the class of 2026 according to Kohls Kicking.
Arkansas did add a late transfer from Cal Poly punter Jesse Ehrlich on April 14. Last season, he had two punts of 66 and 65 yards with an average of 43.08 yards per punt. He had 15 punts land inside the 20.
Special teams coordinator Chad Lunsford also said Noah Kalberer, who was already on campus as a student, reached out and did some punting for the team in the spring. He was the 32nd-best punter and 38th-ranked kicker in the class of 2025 according to Kohls.
“When everything kind of went down with Connor, we actually … I got reached out to by a young man that’s on campus here, that was going to school here, that was a punter, Noah Kalberer, and he we brought him out for the spring,” Lunsford said. “He’s kind of in a tryout situation, so he’s been doing the second-team punting for us. Obviously, we didn’t want Gavin taking every punt during the spring. That’s not very healthy for his leg and all that. But Noah Kalberer is the guy that we brought in, and he’s kind of in tryout mode force for the spring.”
Outside of Smith, Silverfield said the team doesn’t have any major injuries heading into offseason conditioning.
Starting jobs at kicker, kickoff duties likely nailed down
During the All-In Roadshow event, Silverfield indicated that Tennessee transfer Max Gilbert would likely be the starting kicker, while Georgia State transfer Braeden McAlister will handle kickoffs.
The Razorbacks will start the offseason conditioning program soon in preparation for fall camp and the start of the 2026 season on Sept. 5 against North Alabama.
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