FAYETTEVILLE — Fayetteville offensive coordinator Jared McBride and the rest of the coaching staff had an offensive game plan before the Bulldogs faced Fort Smith Southside in October.
They had certain running plays that they knew would work against certain Southside defensive looks and passing plays that would work against others. What they couldn’t decide was when the Rebels would be in those defenses.
So, they left the calls up to a high school junior — quarterback Brandon Allen.
Of course, Allen wasn’t the garden-variety junior, having already started his entire sophomore season. But this was another step forward completely.
“We try to teach (quarterbacks) and give them some freedom to get us in and out of some plays,” McBride said. “But it might be away from a run to a safe pass or away from a screen to a safe run.
“But never a full package.”
The coaches tested Allen at the Monday practice before Southside. They sent him to the line with three run plays and three pass plays, charging him to pick the right one based on the defensive look.
Fifteen times, they challenged him. Fifteen times, Allen made the right call.
“From that point on, we went into about every game with a package we could just call from the huddle,” McBride said. “He’d go to the line with a dummy call, look to see what (defense) they were in and get us in the right play.
“I don’t think he missed one.”
Allen didn’t miss much of anything during the 2009 season, either mentally or physically. After a sophomore season during which he threw 30 touchdowns with 20 interceptions, Fayetteville coach Daryl Patton challenged Allen to improve that ratio.
He did just that, again throwing 30 touchdowns as a junior — this time with only five interceptions. Allen finished the season with 3,375 yards passing in 11 games, completing 244 of 432 attempts (57 percent) and earning the selection of All-Northwest Arkansas Big 6 Offensive Player of the Year.
“He’s sharp,” Patton said. “His decision making was 1,000 times better this season than it was last year. Just look at that touchdown-to-interception ratio compared to his sophomore year.”
Patton wasn’t the only one to notice Allen’s progression on the field and in the huddle. After not saying much in the huddle as a “little sophomore,” Allen made a point to become more vocal in the Fayetteville huddle this season.
That leadership translated into more confidence during the game.
“Last year, I was young and wasn’t used to the speed of high school football,” Allen said. “This year, it went a lot slower, and I saw a lot more. I wasn’t nearly as nervous or anything like that. The game came easier.”
That ease is something coaches have noticed in Allen since his junior high days, and it’s not just the Fayetteville coaches who have taken notice. With a scholarship offer already from Arkansas, where his father, Bobby Allen, is an assistant coach, college coaches from across the country have been calling Patton and asking about the 6-foot-3, 205-pound junior.
More will likely arrive in the spring when the college recruiting season begins in earnest.
“You can’t take too much credit for teaching him,” McBride said. “He just kind of knows. He grew up around the game, and he’s a smart kid.
“You teach him something once, and he’s got it. That says a lot about him, but he’s also a great athlete to go along with that and if he gets into a bad spot, he can usually get out of it.”
Despite Allen’s success, Fayetteville once again finished 5-6 this season and lost in the first round of the playoffs. It’s the lone blemish on Allen’s resume, though Patton is quick to point out how often the quarterback was on the run from defenses this season.
“He’s one of the best in the nation,” Patton said. “What we’ve got to do is improve the supporting cast around him.”
To that end, Patton said the Bulldogs’ offseason workouts have been more intense than ever, with Allen leading the way as the team looks to become stronger on both sides of the ball.
For his part, Allen has only one thing he’s looking toward next season — a goal that became very clear when he was asked what he could improve.
“Win more games,” Allen quickly answered.
Profile
BRANDON ALLEN
School: Fayetteville
Position: Quarterback
Class: Junior
Height: 6-3
Weight: 205
Notable: After throwing 30 touchdowns and 20 interceptions as a sophomore, Allen worked on ball possession before his junior year. It showed — with Allen once again throwing 30 touchdowns, this time opposite only five interceptions.