HOG FUTURES RAFE PEAVEY

Accelerated learning

QB has been on fast track since 8th grade

Arkansas quarterback Rafe Peavey scrambles out of the pocket during the Red-White game April 30, 2014, at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.
Arkansas quarterback Rafe Peavey scrambles out of the pocket during the Red-White game April 30, 2014, at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.

The 14th in a series profiling newcomers on the 2014 Arkansas Razorbacks football team.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas freshman quarterback Rafe Peavey wasn't even in high school when he began considering the benefits of enrolling early in college.

As an eighth-grader, Peavey tagged along on older brother Kolton's recruiting trips. Kolton, a redshirt junior quarterback at Rhode Island, was a high school junior at the time.

Rafe Peavey at a glance

CLASS Freshman

HEIGHT/WEIGHT 6-2, 212 pounds

POSITION Quarterback

HIGH SCHOOL Bolivar (Mo.)

NOTEWORTHY Will compete with Austin Allen in fall camp for the No. 2 quarterback job behind starter Brandon Allen. … Enrolled at Arkansas in January and went through spring practice. … Rated No. 10 quarterback recruit nationally last year by ESPN and No. 4 dual-threat quarterback Rivals.com. … Completed 127 of 185 passes for 2,294 yards and 16 touchdowns and rushed 187 times for 1,557 yards and 27 touchdowns as a senior at Bolivar. … Helped Bolivar to a 30-6 record in his three seasons as a starter. … Had numerous scholarship offers in addition to Arkansas, including Auburn, Missouri and Ole Miss. … Father Jack Peavey was an Arkansas graduate assistant in 1990 and 1991.

"I was blessed to have an older brother take me with him like that," Peavey said. "I got to sit down with him in meetings and listen to what the coaches said.

"One thing that kept popping up is that they asked if he was going to be a mid-term enrollee? They said it was really beneficial for quarterbacks to do that.

"I knew I wanted to be a quarterback, so when I started high school, I went to my guidance counselor so I could plan my schedule to graduate early.

"It worked out pretty well."

Peavey led Bolivar (Mo.) High School to a 12-1 record last fall before graduating in December, enrolling at Arkansas in January and going through spring practice. He will go into fall camp competing for the No. 2 quarterback job with redshirt freshman Austin Allen after junior Brandon Allen solidified his hold on the starting job.

"I thought I did pretty well in the spring with handling everything that got thrown at me, learning the playbook and just trying to learn how to time manage stuff off the field," Peavey said. "Coming in early helped me a ton.

"Getting those practice reps is priceless, but I'm still constantly learning new stuff day by day. You can't know the offense well enough."

Peavey completed 4 of 9 passes for 42 yards in the Red-White game that capped spring practice.

"Coming out of Bolivar and not doing a lot of the same things we do, Rafe's had to learn a lot of the new progressions, and he's done a very good job of it,'" said Jim Chaney, Arkansas' offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. "I think at times it overwhelmed him, but at times he could deliver the ball as accurate as any quarterback we have.

"He loves to play the game. He's passionate about it. I'm excited about him being here and I think he's going to be a good player at Arkansas in due time."

Chaney said it's challenging for quarterbacks to play as freshmen because they have to know not only what they're supposed to do, but what every other player on offense is supposed to do as well.

"You don't just walk in the door one day and play great football the next day," Chaney said. "It's a difficult learning curve.

"We've tried to minimize that to the best of our ability, to help Rafe get on the field. But even with that said, you've got to be able to function and do the plays, and I think he's about right on [schedule] of where he needs to be after the spring."

ESPN rated Peavey the No. 10 quarterback nationally his senior season, when he completed 127 of 185 passes for 2,294 yards and 16 touchdowns and rushed 187 times for 1,557 yards and 27 touchdowns. Rivals.com rated him the nation's No. 4 dual-threat quarterback.

"He can run, he can throw it," Chaney said. "He's got a really good brain on him. He understands football."

Chaney said Peavey might not have ever had a coach get after him in practice as much as Chaney did at times in the spring.

Peavey said he understands Chaney's approach because his father, Jack Peavey, coached for more than 20 years at the college and high school levels. Jack Peavey, now an assistant athletic director at Oklahoma Baptist University, was an Arkansas graduate assistant in 1990 and 1991.

"I've been around coaching my whole life, so I'm used to all that goes along with that," Rafe Peavey said. "Coaches' jobs are on the line, and they just want us to be the best that we can be.

"It's their job to get us there, and they've got to do what they've got to do, and I understand that completely."

Peavey said he has a great relationship with Chaney.

"He's probably the smartest coach in college football, and he also can be hilarious," Peavey said. "He knows as players we have a lot on our plate, and he understands when to lighten things up."

Chaney said he expects Peavey to continue to progress throughout the summer and in preseason practice.

"He'll know what he's doing," Chaney said. "And the more he knows, the faster he'll play."

Peavey first committed to Arkansas in June of 2012, when John L. Smith was the Razorbacks' interim coach in the wake of Bobby Petrino's firing.

Peavey took visits to Missouri and Iowa after Bret Bielema was hired as Arkansas' coach after the 2012 season, but he reaffirmed his commitment to the Razorbacks in June of 2013 when he visited with Bielema and Chaney, turning down visits to Ohio State and Southern California.

"Coach Bielema and the staff did an awesome job with him," Jack Peavey told the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader. "He wanted to go there, but he had a little doubt and wanted to make sure."

Rafe Peavey said he was reassured Arkansas would be the best place for him after getting to know Bielema and his assistants.

"I was able to see through some people's lies, because there's a lot of lying that goes on in recruiting," Peavey said. "That's one thing I liked about Arkansas, they just shot me the truth no matter what."

Sports on 07/27/2014

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