Zach Hocker
CAREER SUMMARY: Hocker has appeared in all 38 games as a Razorback. He is 143-of-145 on PATs and 48-of-64 on field goals for a total of 287 points scored and has kicked off 151 times for an average of 66.6 yards per kick and 79 touchbacks. Entering the 2013 season, he holds the Arkansas record for career points by a kicker with 287, career made PATs with 143 and career PAT attempts with 145. He ranks second in career field goal percentage (min. 20 made) at 75.0, his points total ranks second overall in UA history, his made field goals total ranks fourth in school history and his field goal attempts rank as the fifth on the school’s all-time list. He enters the 2013 season as the SEC’s active career leader in PATs made, total points and points per game.
2012: During the 2012 season, Hocker broke Arkansas career records for points scored, PATs made and PAT attempts. He scored 65 points, courtesy of a 32-of-32 mark on PATs and making 11-of-18 field goal attempts, in addition to kicking off 58 times for an average of 64.7 yards and 39 touchbacks. He averaged at least 64 yards per kickoff in 10 of 12 games. His kickoff average led the NCAA, and his touchback percentage of 67.27 ranked second in the SEC and sixth in the NCAA while his 39 total touchbacks were third in the conference and tied for 11th in the nation. He was recognized as an SEC Special Teams Player of the Week following the 49-7 win vs. Kentucky when he tied his career highs with seven made PATs and six touchbacks. He also recorded seven made PATs and six touchbacks in the season-opening 49-24 victory vs. Jacksonville State. He averaged 70.8 yards on five kickoffs with four touchbacks while adding one 37-yard field goal and 4-of-4 on PAT attempts vs. ULM. He recorded a touchback in his lone kickoff vs. No. 1 Alabama. He was 2-of-2 on field goals and 2-of-2 on PAT attempts in addition to registering five touchbacks on six kickoffs vs. Rutgers. He was 1-of-1 on PATs and 1-of-2 on field goals while adding two touchbacks on three kickoffs at Texas A&M. He was 3-of-3 on PATs and made one 27-yard field goal in addition to two touchbacks on five kickoffs in a 24-7 win at Auburn. He broke the UA record for career PATs made vs. Ole Miss, as part of a of 3-of-3 game. He also was 2-of-2 on field goals with four touchbacks on six kickoffs. He was 2-of-3 on field goals, including a season-long 46 yarder, 1-of-1 on PATs and registered four touchbacks on five kickoffs in the 19-15 victory vs. Tulsa. At No. 12 South Carolina, he broke the UA kick scoring record with eight points as he was 2-of-2 on field goals and 2-of-2 on PATs and added three touchbacks on four kickoffs. He was 2-of-2 on PATs and kicked off three times with one touchback at Mississippi State and added one touchback in the season finale vs. No. 8 LSU.
2011: He broke the Arkansas single-season record for points by a kicker with 118 as he made 21-of-27 field goal attempts and 55-of-57 PATs. He also kicked off 93 times for an average of 67.8 yards per kick with 40 touchbacks in his first season as a collegian handling kickoff duties in addition to placekicking. He led all SEC kickers and was second overall in the conference and 17th in the NCAA with his average of 9.1 points per game. He also tied for second in the SEC and for 11th in the NCAA with 1.6 made field goals per game. His 40 touchbacks were the most in the SEC and ranked second in the NCAA, and his touchback percentage of 43.01 was second in the conference and third in the country. His average kickoff distance of 67.8 yards also was second in the SEC and ranked fourth in the nation. His 21 made field goals and 27 field goal attempts both ranked second on the respective single-season lists at UA, while his 57 PAT kick attempts stood as the third-highest single-season total in school history and his 55 PAT makes ranked fourth on the single-season list. His 77.8 field goal percentage was the seventh-best single-season percentage in school history among kickers with at least 10 makes in a season. He scored a career-high 14 points, which tied for sixth on Arkansas’ single-game kick scoring list, vs. No. 10 South Carolina and vs. Mississippi State. Against the Gamecocks, he was 3-of-5 on field goal attempts and 5-of-5 on PATs while tying his career high with nine kickoffs that resulted in three touchbacks as UA won 44-28. He was 3-of-4 on field goals and 5-of-5 on PATs with nine kickoffs for a career-high-tying five touchbacks in the 44-17 victory vs. the Bulldogs. He opened the season with nine points on 6-of-7 PATs and 1-of-1 field goals with a career-high nine kickoffs and a career-high five touchbacks in a 51-7 win vs. Missouri State. He was 7-of-7 on PAT attempts and 1-of-2 on field goals while kicking off nine times and earning two touchbacks the next week in a 52-3 win vs. New Mexico. He was 5-of-5 on PAT attempts and 1-of-1 on field goals with two touchbacks on seven kickoffs in the 38-28 victory vs. Troy. At No. 3 Alabama, he was 2-of-2 on PATs and kicked off three times for an average of 70.0 yards per kick and two touchbacks. He was 4-of-4 on PATs and 2-of-2 on field goals with eight kickoffs resulting in two touchbacks in the 42-38 win vs. No. 14 Texas A&M. The next week, he was 5-of-5 on PATs and 1-of-2 on field goals with a career-high-tying five touchbacks on seven kickoffs in the 38-14 victory vs. No. 15 Auburn. He was 3-of-3 on PATs and 2-of-2 on field goals while kicking off six times with two touchbacks in a 29-24 win at Ole Miss. He was named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week after he was 2-of-2 on PATs and 3-of-3 on field goals, including a season-long 50 yarder, and recorded two touchbacks on seven kickoffs in the 31-28 victory at Vanderbilt. He tied his career high with seven made PATs and added four touchbacks on eight kickoffs in a 49-7 win vs. Tennessee. At No. 1 LSU, he was 2-of-2 on PATs and 1-of-1 on field goals with two touchbacks on four kickoffs. He wrapped up the season by tying his career high for field goals with a 3-of-3 performance, tying the bowl record for made field goals, and adding two PATs and four touchbacks on seven kickoffs while helping Arkansas defeat No. 11 Kansas State 29-16 in the AT&T Cotton Bowl. He also made three tackles, one each vs. New Mexico, vs. South Carolina and at LSU, and recovered one fumble vs. South Carolina.
2010: He appeared in all 13 games for the Razorbacks and was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team after scoring 104 points, 56-56 on PATs and 16-19 on field goals. Hocker’s 104 points scored were seventh in the SEC in 2010 and ranked as the fourth-highest single-season total in school history and the third most by a kicker. He was one of just two kickers in the SEC to be perfect on PAT kicks, and his 56 made PATs ranked second in the conference and tied for 12th in the NCAA and as the third-most in a season by a Razorback kicker. His .842 field goal percentage ranked third in the SEC and tied for 21st in the NCAA and was the third-best single-season percentage (min. 10 attempts) in school history. His long of 51 yards was an Arkansas freshman record and the longest by any UA kicker since 1988. It came as part of a 2-of-2 field goal performance with five PATs in the Razorbacks’ 41-20 win at No. 18 South Carolina. The Gamecock contest was in a run of seven consecutive games in which he made at least four PAT kicks, a streak that began at No. 7 Auburn and stretched through Arkansas’ 31-23 win vs. No. 6 LSU. He also started the season with three straight games of at least four PATs, making six in the season opener vs. Tennessee Tech and four each vs. ULM and at Georgia. He made a career-high three field goals on three attempts, with a long of 47, to go with one PAT made in the Allstate Sugar Bowl vs. No. 6 Ohio State. He was 2-of-2 on field goals vs. No. 1 Alabama and vs. Vanderbilt and connected on one field goal vs. ULM, at Georgia, vs. Texas A&M, vs. Ole Miss, vs. UTEP, at No. 22 Mississippi State and vs. No. 6 LSU.
HIGH SCHOOL: Hocker earned all-state honors in 2009 at Russellville High School under head coach Jeff Holt. As a senior, he was also named the Defensive Player of the Year by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He was ranked as the best kicker in the state of Arkansas by Scout.com. Hocker was selected to play in the Arkansas High School Coaches Association East-West Shrine game. As a senior, he helped Russellville to an 8-3-1 record and kicked a school-record 15 field goals. All but three of his 61 kickoffs reached the end zone for a touchback, resulting in opponents starting from their 20-yard line more than 95 percent of the time. He finished the season with a 45-yard average on 35 punt attempts. He averaged more than 45 yards in seven games and 14 of his punts were downed inside the 20. He kicked four field goals in a 26-26 tie at Fayetteville, including a school-record 52 yarder. As a junior, he averaged 38 yards per punt. He selected Arkansas over Hawaii, Arkansas State, Memphis and North Carolina.
PERSONAL: Born Aug. 23, 1991, he is the son of Roy and Sandy Hocker. He is enrolled in the Walton College of Business and majoring in business.
Zach Hocker NFL Scouting Report
STRENGTHS
Good leg speed. Consistently converted beyond 50 (3-4 as a senior) and has enough velocity to hang the ball on kickoffs. Well-grounded and humble.
WEAKNESSES
Thinly built and undersized. Does not possess a powerful leg. The ball does not explode off his foot (rise). Struggled to handle pressure early in his career.
DRAFT PROJECTION
Undrafted free agent
BOTTOM LINE
Soccer-style kicker whose leg strength and accuracy seemed to be weakening heading into his senior season, with diminished accuracy and range. Rebounded to make his senior season his best. Could warrant consideration in a camp.
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