State sports briefs

HIGH SCHOOL Bauxite’s Quinn to receive top award

Bauxite athletic director Doug Quinn will receive the 2013 State Award of Merit by the Arkansas High School Athletic Administrators Association on Thursday at the state conference for athletic administrators in Conway.

The award, presented annually by the National Interscholastic Athletic Association, is for recognition of meritorious dedication to high school and middle school athletics.

Quinn has been the athletic director at Bauxite for three years and an athletic director overall for 14. He has served as the 5A-East Conference president and now serves as the 7-4A Conference president. He is also the vice president of the Arkansas Activities Association District 5 and serves on the public relations committee, awards committee and is the executive committee treasurer.

FOOTBALL Hogs like kicker Hedlund

Arkansas needs a replacement for senior kicker Zach Hocker after the 2013 season and the Hogs think they have found one in kicker Cole Hedlund, who orally committed on Saturday.

Hedlund, 5-10, 170 pounds from Argyle, Texas, shined at Arkansas Specialists Camp for kickers, punters and long snappers, received a scholarship offer after leaving campus and later pledged to the Hogs. He set a national record of 25 field goals in a season as a sophomore.

Coach Bret Bielema and defensive line coach Charlie Partridge, who also serves as the Hogs’ specialists coach, liked what they saw.

“Coach B was telling me he really wanted a guy that was consistent because that’s what he needs in a field goal kicker,” Hedlund said. “He felt like I was the guy for that. Coach Partridge was really excited. “

Hedlund made 7 of 10 field goals as a junior and had a long of 47 yards, along with having 42 touchbacks on 57 kickoffs.

Kohl’s Kicking Camp Director & National Evaluator Jamie Kohl, who ranks the top 100 kickers for ESPN, rates Hedlund a 5-star prospect and the No. 4 kicker in the nation.

“Cole is one of the most reliable high school kickers I’ve seen in the last couple of years,” Kohl said. “I love his ball-strike and his ability to tune out pressure and perform. He should be a weapon in the SEC.”

“I pretty much made my decision after seeing the campus and talking with the coaches,” Hedlund said. “That’s when I knew that would be the perfect place for me.”

Hedlund is the No. 5 commitment for the 2014 class. Oral commitments are nonbinding.

• Richard Davenport