'Mature' freshman Cam Settles could play role for Hogs in 2025

On3 image — True freshman running back Cam Settles has earned praise from both coaches and teammates over the offseason. (Photo by Arkansas Athletics)

If it stays healthy, the Arkansas Razorbacks running back room could run four-deep.

HawgBeat discussed it in our ‘3 Looming Questions‘ that New Mexico State transfer Mike Washington, along with Rodney Hill and sophomore Braylen Russell, a Benton graduate, will be counted on to take pressure off of second-year quarterback Taylen Green.

True freshman Cam Settles, a 5-foot-11, 204-pound recent alumnus of Parkview Magnet in Little Rock, may also earn his way into the mix. Settles, who enrolled at Arkansas in January and went through spring practices with the team, earned high praise from offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino.

Petrino singled out Settles’ pass blocking as a primary factor that could earn him reps.

“I like Cam Settles a lot,” Petrino said in April. “He is big, strong and has shown he can pass protect. That is the first thing as a young guy that gets you in the game is your ability to protect the quarterback.”

Settles has not only opened the eyes of the coaching staff, he has also garnered respect from a team leader on the other side of the ball.

“One on offense is Cam Settles,” senior linebacker Xavian Sorey Jr. said at SEC Media Days earlier this week in Atlanta (Ga.) when asked by a reporter about freshmen who could make an impact. “I like Cam and to be able to go against him and see how he pass protects, it’s big.”

Cam Settles was key in Parkview’s three-peat run

Settles played with and against some of Arkansas’ top competition during his time with Parkview, where he was a part of a 2025 class that went 39-3 in three seasons and won a school-record three consecutive Class 5A state championships. The three losses were all to 7A programs and the Patriots were a perfect 34-0 against 5A opposition.

It comes as no surprise to Brad Bolding, Settles’ high school coach who is now in his second stint as head coach at North Little Rock, that Settles has made his presence felt within the locker room.

“Cam has always been very mature for his age and did not act like most teenagers,” Bolding said. “He was one who knew that taking care of your body is the most important thing, especially at running back because everyone is out to hit you. Taking care of your body is not always typical of that age group, especially nowadays.”

Parkview is now led by Brad Bolding’s brother, Bobby Bolding, an active legendary coach in the Arkansas prep ranks who was the defensive coordinator for all three of the Parkview state championship teams.

In order to earn time as a running back in Parkview’s offense, blocking was a non-negotiable and that was one of Settles’ strengths as well in the prep ranks.

“We really worked pass blocking, that is something we did every day in groups with the offensive line,” Brad Bolding said.

Brad Bolding added that Settles also thrived in the weight room, where he was power cleaning 335 pounds and squatting 550 when he left Parkview at the beginning of the year.

Loyalty is a two-way street

Settles referred to himself as a “home state kid” on his signing day last December and the Hogs were one of his three Power Four offers along with Oregon State and SMU, as well as other Division I programs such as Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Louisiana Tech, Louisiana-Monroe and Memphis, among others.

“I have to give a lot of credit to Coach (Kolby) Smith,” Brad Bolding said of Arkansas’ current running backs coach. “He developed a relationship with Cam and while others did not think he could play in the SEC, Coach Smith did.

“He came to our games and told me to my face that Cam can play in the NFL.”

Smith played for Petrino at Louisville from 2003-06, then had a stint in the NFL from 2007-2010. He also coached in the NFL for the Miami Dolphins before coming to Arkansas.

“Coach Smith knows, and I know because I have coached enough of them,” Bolding added. “I tried to tell a lot of coaches, some pulled the trigger and some didn’t, but Cam got the offer he wanted and that was the University of Arkansas. That is because of the way he works and his maturity.”

While Settles was a three-year starter and team captain at Parkview, his abilities only went so far to the outside world who solely pay attention to recruiting rankings and not the actual games.

He was a consensus three-star prospect and rated as high as the nation’s No. 51 running back per Rivals and fifth-best overall prospect in Arkansas, but he also shared the spotlight with other top prospects like Omarion Robinson and Monterrio Elston, who signed with Oklahoma and Kansas State, respectively.

Competing every day against other great players such as Robinson and Elston, plus the additional college prospects that were scattered across Parkview’s roster, prepared Settles to earn reps sooner than later at the next level.

“A lot of high school kids are really, really good but they don’t have anybody to compete with,” Bolding said. “That is what I want in my practices, that is what I try to create in my culture. You have to compete every day or you will lose your position.

“When you get to college it is every single day. The depth chart is fluid, it changes and you have to come to work every day. The expectations are really high, especially in the SEC.”

Now that Settles has earned his opportunity to prove himself in the nation’s premier conference, Bolding believes that he will remain loyal to the home state team in a landscape of continuously changing rosters.

“I could see Cam never leaving there, staying his full time and being a hell of a back for Arkansas,” Bolding said. “He will be loyal to the university and the state of Arkansas.

“I can guarantee that because of his character.”

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