Austin Allen has long been the favorite to win the vacant starting quarterback job at Arkansas, but head coach Bret Bielema made it official when he announced Allen as the team’s starter via Twitter last week.
Arkansas edge #5 is we EARN EVERYTHING. That is why today I announced to the team @austinallen8 is our starting QB pic.twitter.com/QBpd03HJOt
— Bret Bielema (@BretBielema) April 15, 2016
Bielema displayed even more faith in his returning junior quarterback after Friday’s scrimmage — which saw Allen reportedly throw for three touchdowns on 15-of-18 passing — when he called him the team’s “best quarterback,” which he feels Allen is by a large margin, according to GridironNow.com.
“Last week when I was away for a couple of days, I was sitting there watching film and I’m like, ‘He (Allen) is our best quarterback,” Bielema said. “It’s not even close as far as, if we were playing a game tomorrow, who everybody in both locker rooms and the coaching staff would choose.’”
Again, it’s hardly a surprise to see Allen earn the starting job. Despite limited in-game reps, he’s still the most experienced of Arkansas’ current quarterbacks. Allen has been enrolled at Arkansas for the past three years, including a redshirt season working with the scout team in 2013.
The rising junior appeared in eight total games and has thrown for 188 yards, one touchdown and one interception on 9-of-19 passing. Backups Rafe Peavey — who redshirted in 2014 — Ty Storey and Ricky Town — both of whom redshirted last season — have never taken a snap at the college level.
Still, some expected more of a battle at quarterback especially from Town, who is the highest rated QB prospect at Arkansas since Ryan Mallett transferred in 2008. Similarly, Town opted to transfer from USC just before the beginning of his freshman season, which led many to believe he made his decision based on a better chance at early playing time in Fayetteville.
But it will be Allen who replaces his brother, Brandon Allen, under center in 2016, which also adds to the intrigue surrounding the rising junior.
The elder Allen set the Arkansas school record with 64 career passing touchdowns, ranks third with 7,463 passing yards and third with a .574 completion percentage on 583 of 1,016 passing. He also set career-highs with 3,440 yards and 30 touchdowns on 244-of-370 passing as a senior.
It’s one thing to replace a three-year starter who showed consistent improvement with each passing season. But it’s another to live up to the expectations set by an older sibling.
Austin Allen will face this challenge as he takes over for his departing older brother in 2016. After a strong showing all spring, the younger Allen must prove he can live up to the hype.
His first challenge will be having a strong performance in Arkansas’ spring game on Saturday. Granted, this will be a far cry from facing an opposing SEC defense, but it will give a glimpse into how far along Allen’s development is.
Arkansas is the only SEC team that hasn’t already participated in its spring game. As noted with others, the spring game can build optimism and momentum based on solid performances for key players. Arkansas fans will analyze every passing attempt made by Allen to see whether he’s ready to live up to the standards set by his brother and Bielema’s praise.
There’s no guarantee that Austin will be as good as his brother, although he did rate as a 4-star prospect out of high school while Brandon rated as a 3-star. But Arkansas will still put its faith into an Allen for the fourth consecutive season and hope to find the same consistency in 2016.
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