Punter Blake Johnson feels ready to take big stage

Arkansas punter Blake Johnson works during practice Saturday, August 15, 2015 at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.

— Blake Johnson was one of the nation’s top high school punters when he signed with Arkansas, evidenced by his participation in the U.S. Army All-American Game.

But with upperclassmen Sam Irwin-Hill and Toby Baker in front of him, Johnson’s lone two punts of his career - with a 47-yard average and both fair caught - came against Texas State last year as a redshirt freshman.

Johnson (6-1, 180), a Long Beach Calif., native, is expected to take over the job full-time this season and has booted the ball well in preseason camp so far.

“I'd say I've been working really hard and doing a really good job honestly, hitting really consistent balls that are going pretty far and doing what I'm supposed to,” Johnson said. “I'm (averaging) over 40 (yards per punt) and over 4.0 (seconds hang time) so it's looking pretty good.”

Johnson believes the wait has been good for him.

“I think that has been the best thing for me,” Johnson said. “Coming in maturity-wise, I had a lot of growing up to do. Socially I had to get used to growing up in Southern California and coming out here to Arkansas was a big deal for me and it was really hard on me at first.

“But being behind Toby and learning from him because he was a very mature and responsible guy, I think it was the best thing for me.”

Baker averaged 44.4 yards per punt last season for the Razorbacks.


“Toby was a really good influence on me with the way he conducted his business,” Johnson said. “Honestly it's just been a lot of ball drops every single night. Working on ball drops and air kicks. Just dry steps with the kicker. Basically there's no ball. You just follow through with your technique and swing up. It's as simple as that.”

Consistency has been the biggest change for Johnson.

“Absolutely,” Johnson said. “When I first got here it was good ball, bad ball. But now I can definitely say it is good ball, good ball so there has been that improvement.

“It was just a lot of acclimation honestly socially and my head was in so many different places. It was hard to just focus on football. Now that I have all the social aspects down, football has been my main factor and I have just been grinding on it and it’s been my main factor.”

Connor Limpert has also been involved in the punting competition, but kicking coach Tanner Burns has told Johnson that the job is basically his to lose.

“My backup Connor Limpert, he's been doing a pretty good job,” Burns said. “But overall, Tanner told me from day one if you do what you're supposed to do you're gonna be the guy.”

Johnson chose Arkansas over offers from Duke, Oregon State and as well as interest from LSU and Texas A&M and others. He committed in Razorback head coach Bret Bielema’s office the same day he was offered.

“Honestly, it was just the whole vibe from here,” Johnson said. “It was just different from any other school that I had been to. I didn’t realize, one, how big football was in the SEC, and two, there was just something about this place that just clicked.

“When I walked into Coach B’s office and he was playing some reggae music, which is all I listen to, and it was like the same songs I was listening to on my phone, I was tripping. I look at my phone really quick to make sure it wasn’t playing.

“It was just everything about this place and Coach Burns has been great, too. He recruited me and he is a California kid, too, so there was that connection and it seemed like the right fit. His dad (former Arkansas defensive coordinator Keith Burns) is a NorCal guy and used to coach at USC.”

He admits there was a culture shock upon his arrival in Fayetteville.

“Just meeting all new people and having my family so far away and no one out here, but I have really come to love Arkansas so it has turned out for the best,” Johnson said.

“I can’t surf for one thing,” Johnson said. “The people are different. They are nicer here, but it was a big change for me just noticing how people walk down the street and say hi. I was kind of like ‘whoa.’ And the whole country boy thing, I’m not really used to that either.”

Johnson gives his dad Todd Johnson, a police officer in Long Beach, Calif., a lot of credit for his success.

“My dad is my best friend and has been my biggest fan throughout my whole sports career,” Johnson said. “He has always encouraged me, got me to the camps to get ranked and recruited and we just have a really great relationship.

“I think even though he was always hard on me when I was a youngster when I started to grow up he started to lay off of me,” Johnson said. “He had seen that the molding that he had placed on me had started to take over. I am so grateful that he is my dad because I don’t think I could have done this without him.”

Johnson’s dad is slated to be featured in Dateline episode in the future.

“I don’t know all the details about that, but I know he has had some interviews for it,” Johnson said.