FAYETTEVILLE - Most of last week it was believed that Arkansas Razorbacks sophomore quarterback Brandon Allen’s injured shoulder still too ailed for him to play Saturday night against Texas A&M.
It was also believed that Arkansas freshman offensive linemen Denver Kirkland and Dan Skipper were backup tackles and that freshman Korliss Marshall of Osceola was a redshirting defensive back.
Turned out none of the above were true.
Without roles in last year’s A&M 58-10 rout of the Razorbacks in College Station, Texas, Allen, Kirkland, Skipper and Marshall emerged from last week’s closed practices under first-year Coach Bret Bielema to play major roles in Arkansas extending A&M to a shootout. The 10th-ranked Aggies finally prevailed 45-33 on a rainy night at Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
It wasn’t until Friday night that Bielema on Twitter confirmed Allen fit to return.
Still, gamesmanship was suspected. How much would Allen, initially not expected back until this coming Saturday’s game at Florida, actually play? Would backup AJ Derby quarterback the most?
Derby quarterbacked all snaps of Arkansas’ 28-24 loss on Sept. 21 at Rutgers.
Allen quarterbacked all snaps against the Aggies. Even with Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel exceptionally doing it all for A&M, the Arkansas sophomore shared the quarterback stage Saturday night.
Allen threw three touchdowns among his 17 of 36 for 282 yards.
Though intercepted twice, once returned for a touchdown, Allen contributed significantly to Arkansas bowing up to those Aggies that slaughtered the Hogs last year.
Post Rutgers, as Arkansas had failed for the first time to generate a strong running game, Bielema, offensive coordinator Jim Chaney and line coach Sam Pittman moved backup tackles Kirkland and Skipper to starting guards.
“We made the decision last week on Sunday we were going to go with those two young guys inside,” Bielema said postgame. “I thought that gave us a little mojo on Tuesday, the whole practice was awesome, upbeat and I thought those two guys were a big part of it. They’re very talented.”
As run-blockers and pass-protectors, Kirkland and Skipper were part of an 483-yards offense, 201 rushing and 282 passing, that kept Allen sack-free.
Marshall was an outstanding running back at Osceola, but with nationally acclaimed freshman Alex Collins added to sophomore star Jonathan Williams and sophomore speedster Nate Holmes, it was determined to move Marshall to the secondary and use 2013 apprenticing him.
However when Holmes, also a kick returner, rolled his ankle, the staff last week rolled Marshall to offense. Marshall’s 38-yard kick return opened the retaliatory 7-7 drive to A&M’s game-opening touchdown drive. His one carry, for 16 yards, immediately preceded Allen’s second-quarter touchdown pass to Williams.
“He just continued to impress on the scout team as a kick return guy,” Bielema said of Marshall. “I was like, ‘What are we doing? This guy can help us win games.’ ”
Arkansas has lost two consecutive games, but shining sophomores and freshman flashes on a rainy night could generate a fan base to forecast sunny skies.
Sports, Pages 16 on 09/30/2013