LITTLE ROCK — Fayetteville’s Brandon Allen has progressed into one of the better quarterbacks in the nation during his three years as a starter, but it hasn’t happened without a learning curve.
Allen, 6-2, 210 pounds, 4.6 seconds in the 40-yard dash, didn’t surprise many when he orally committed to Arkansas in January after receiving a scholarship offer in August 2009. His father, Bobby Allen, is the defensive tackles coach for the Razorbacks.
Brandon Allen completed 251 of 434 passes for 3,285 yards with 30 touchdowns and 20 interceptions as a sophomore. He completed 246 of 432 passes for 3,375 yards and 30 touchdowns with only 5 interceptions hisjunior season.
This season, Allen has completed 124 of 187 of passes for 1,832 yards with 23 touchdowns and 0 interceptions in 8 games.
“He’s gotten better each year,” Fayetteville Coach Daryl Patton said. “His first year asa 15-, 16-year-old sophomore he saw a lot of things at a very fast speed so he made some mistakes in the passing game. Last year, things slowed down for him and he was making plays left and right.”
Allen attributes his improvement to trusting his skills.
“I think the major thing is confidence,” Allen said. “Going into this year I was pretty confident about what our team could do and of my abilities. My sophomore year, I threw 20 interceptions. I was pretty mad about that. Last year, I think I threw five or six, and this year I haven’t thrown one yet but I’m sure itwill come sometime.”
Patton said Allen is a “man among boys” in the high schools ranks and doesn’t liketo think about not having him behind center.
“He’s very cool, calm and collected and no situation getshim rattled,” Patton said. “He can make all of the throws. He can throw the three-step, five-step, the boots, the playaction, the screens. He can throw short, he can throw vertical. I know I’m biased, but I think he’s the best quarterback in the state.”
Allen can also make things happen with his legs, rushing 55 times for 342 yards and 6 touchdowns this season.
“This year we’ve changed our offense and I have some designed runs that I can show a little speed,” Allen said. “The designed runs are really keeping our offense balanced.”
Arm strength is another area Allen is working to improve. As a pitcher in baseball, his fastball was clocked at 90 mph on the radar gunduring the spring, an increase from a high of 86 as a sophomore.
“Being able to throw the ball with high velocity will help not getting picked off as much,” Allen said. “ You’reable to fit it in tighter windows and put it where it needs to be more quickly and not give the defense time to react.”
Bobby Allen played quarterback at Virginia Tech, and Brandon Allen said he has benefited from being a coach’s son as well as being coached by Patton and spending time on the Arkansas campus with Hogs offensive coordinator Garrick McGee and Coach Bobby Petrino.
“I’ve always been football smart,” Allen said. “I know the ins and outs because I’ve grown up around it so much. Being right next to the university I can pop over there whenever I want. I always learn something new while I’m over there.”
E-mail Richard Davenport at
Sports, Pages 38 on 10/24/2010