This article originally appeared in the September 21, 2012 Football Edition of The Arkansas Traveler.
The NFL has the Manning brothers. The NBA
has Doc and Austin Rivers. Baseball has the Griffeys.
Northwest Arkansas’ version of a famous
sports family is the Allens.
Bobby Allen is the secondary coach for the
Razorback football team, Christian is a senior baseball player at the
University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, Brandon is a redshirt freshman
quarterback for the Hogs, Austin is a senior quarterback at Fayetteville High
and is committed to Arkansas and Daniela is a sophomore basketball player at
Fayetteville High.
“It was competitive with everything,”
Austin Allen said. “We’d go to the backyard and play one-on-one basketball and
it ended in tears when we were younger.”
Recently, Brandon has been the most
publicized. After starting the season as the backup quarterback, he was thrust
into the starting position midway through the second game after senior Tyler
Wilson was injured.
While this was his first major collegiate
experience, many people across the state knew of him already. At Fayetteville
High School, Brandon Allen threw for 10,068 yards and earned All-State honors
as a senior.
Even before starting high school,
Fayetteville head coach Daryl Patton knew Brandon Allen had talent.
“We knew he was gifted,” Patton said. “He
was very physically mature as a ninth grader and he could make throws that some
of our high school quarterbacks couldn’t make.”
Once he got there, Brandon Allen had an
immediate impact, throwing for over 3,000 yards in his first season.
However, he also threw 20 interceptions.
Over the next two seasons, he decreased that number.
“He improved every year,” Patton said. “He
had 20 interceptions as a sophomore, as a junior he had five and as a senior he
didn’t have one during the regular season.”
One reason he improved so much was because
of his preparation off the field.
“He has great work ethic,” Austin Allen
said. “He watches a lot of film and he’s always trying to get better and find
something new to get better at.”
Following his senior year, in which he led
his team to the state championship game, he signed with the Razorbacks. Last
year he redshirted as he learned under Wilson.
When he replaced Wilson in the ULM game,
Brandon Allen led the Hogs on a 67-yard drive that ended on a 13-yard touchdown
pass to freshman Mekale McKay. He finished the game with 85 yards on 6-for-20
passing and one interception.
Against No. 1 Alabama, Brandon Allen was
10-for-18 with 60 yards and two interceptions.
Despite the underwhelming stats, positives
can be taken from the two games. It was a “tough situation” to be put into,
Wilson said.
“If I put myself in a position that
Brandon Allen was in, as a redshirt freshman, I’m not sure if I could have even
done what he did out there,” Wilson said. “I sent him a text (Sunday) night and
I said, ‘Man, you did a pretty good job. I’m proud of you.’”
Brandon Allen’s high school quarterbacks
coach and former Razorback Zak Clark echoes this feeling.
“That’s a tough spot. It’s always tough
going into the game after an injury and then to start against (Alabama), who is
really good on defense,” Clark said. “I’m proud of him. You can forget what the
fans are saying. In my opinion, he played really well for his first start.”
Clark, who started nine games at
quarterback for the Hogs in 2001, even said he would have traded his first
start for Brandon Allen’s.
Brandon Allen said he gained a lot from
the experience as well.
“Being in games and taking more reps in
games was really big for me,” Brandon Allen said. “My confidence is up and I
have matured a lot.”
As for the future, Patton is sure Brandon
Allen will figure everything out, just as he has in the past.
“What he’s going through right now kind of
resembles what he went through as a sophomore for us. He had high expectations
for himself and we were coming off winning a state championship,” Patton said.
“He had a big year for us, but he threw 20
interceptions,” Patton said. “He had to learn from that. The game is going to
slow down for him.”
Whether Brandon Allen plays much more this
season depends on the health of Wilson, but in the future, Hog fans can expect
him to be “something special,” Patton said.
“When I see Brandon, I see a guy that’s
going to continue to improve and by the time he’s a senior, maybe a junior, I
don’t see anybody better in the country,” Patton said. “I think he’s going to
be a fantastic quarterback.”
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