FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen threw 20 touchdown passes last season. He can remember a lot of them, but not all at a moment's notice.
The five interceptions he threw are another matter.
Quarterbacks glance
POSITION COACH Dan Enos (offensive coordinator)
RETURNING STARTER Brandon Allen
WHO’S BACK Austin Allen, Rafe Peavey
WHO’S NEW Ty Storey, Troy Allison (walk-on)
ANALYSIS Allen is expected to improve on his 56 percent completions (ninth among SEC starters), his 129.2 passing efficiency (ninth in the SEC) and his 175.8 passing yards per game (eighth in the SEC). His combination of 20 touchdowns and 5 interceptions
was matched by only three returning starters in the FBS in 2015. The fifth-year senior and third-year starter is the most experienced quarterback in the SEC, which should pay some dividends. Austin Allen played sparingly as a backup and had mixed performances in his longest stints against Nicholls State and Ole Miss. The Razorbacks seem as solid at quarterback as they have been since Brandon Allen backed up Tyler Wilson in 2012.
"There's 'Bama, Mississippi State, two against Georgia," Allen said in mid-July, the day before he left to serve as a counselor at the Manning Passing Academy. "Then there's one other one, the Auburn game.
"It's hard for me to remember every touchdown. Every interception I threw, I can name those. ... Quarterbacks and people who take their position seriously and who want to make themselves better, they don't want to focus on their accomplishments. They focus on the things they can do to get better."
Allen, once a more moderate voice in the huddle among older teammates, is in take-charge mode these days. The fifth-year senior from Fayetteville has been rejuvenated by new offensive coordinator Dan Enos, a focus on stronger offensive balance and the most complete offensive roster the Razorbacks have assembled in his three years as a starter.
Allen's 4-to-1 touchdowns-to-interceptions ratio was a strong one, yet he knows how those handful of interceptions -- all in Arkansas losses -- impacted those games. The turnovers against Alabama and Mississippi State came on Arkansas' last-chance drives in games that ended 14-13 and 17-10, respectively. The interception at then-No. 1 Mississippi State came in the end zone with Arkansas on the move late in the game.
The two against Georgia came in the Razorbacks' sloppiest ball-security game of the season at War Memorial Stadium. And his first interception of the season at Auburn, when he was smacked by a blitzing safety just as he threw, led to the only interception return for a touchdown allowed by Arkansas last season.
That was a major improvement from 2013, his debut as a starter in the major transition to the Bret Bielema offense.
"I put our defense in a lot of bad situations two years ago with a lot of interceptions, and I'm trying to cut that number way back, go from five to even less than that this year," Allen said.
Bielema said there is something else Allen must do to take the next step.
"He has to be big in big moments," Bielema said. "The moments where we really need a fifth-year senior to shine through, on the road, in big ballgames, those things have to be very apparent."
Allen's respect for Enos, a two-year starter at quarterback at Michigan State, has been apparent since the two began working together in the winter. Enos has seen indications the senior signal caller has all the assets needed to help Arkansas win now.
"He's a very good passer, has very good arm strength," Enos said. "He's very smart and very diligent about how he goes about his business. His preparation thus far has been very, very good.
"He continues to get better the more we're around him. He's fun to coach because he usually doesn't make the same mistake twice."
Allen credited Enos with bringing in quality drills and a lot of different concepts, while at the same time carrying over parts of last year's offense.
"He kept some of the terminology the same," Allen said. "Some of our route concepts compared to his may be very similar, but he just tweaked them a little bit so they weren't hard to learn. The offense was pretty simple to learn, which is big for us trying to have success in the next season."
Enos' new footwork drills are expected to improve the balance of Arkansas' quarterbacks, and his tips for improving arm strength have added length and power to throws.
Allen's brother Austin, a sophomore, leads a pack of reserves that includes redshirt freshman Rafe Peavey and true freshman Ty Storey.
Bielema indicated Sunday that Austin Allen's commitment to improving was evident this summer, and Brandon Allen concurred.
"He's got the demeanor now that he wants to get the job done, he wants to be the guy," Brandon Allen said. "He's done so much from a preparation standpoint and getting his body right, getting his mind right on the football field. He's a night-and-day player from where he was last year."
Brandon Allen pointed out that his brother beat him in drill work this summer.
"We run these 300-yard shuttles, and I don't think he'd ever beaten me in one, and I think he had the fourth- or fifth-fastest time on the team in those 300-yard shuttles, which are not an enjoyable thing to do," Brandon Allen said. "I was trying to catch him and I was a second behind him."
Brandon Allen said he expects the Razorbacks to have a memorable season with veterans populating a rugged, pro-style offense in its third season under Bielema.
"We do so much to kind of wear defenses down, and the biggest problem last year was being able to finish off games," he said. "That's really been a driving point for us going into this year."
The same could be said for the veteran quarterback in his final fling for his hometown team.
Sports on 08/12/2015