Arkansas vs. Texas A&M Preview: Kevin Sumlin has high praise for Brandon Allen
When a team possesses the SEC’s No. 1 rushing offense at an astounding 324.5 yards per game, it’s easy to forget about the quarterback, a player who seemingly just hands the ball off to the ball carriers.
For Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin, he hasn’t lost sight of the Arkansas running backs or even the Hogs’ starting quarterback for that matter.
“It’s the same challenge Arkansas presents everybody,” Sumlin said. They’re the No. 1 rushing team right now in the country; we’re the two top scoring teams in the league, two of the top three teams in the country, with really contrasting styles. The point total has become interesting to me based on who they’ve played because you can run the ball the way they run it, but where they’ve really improved is quarterback play.”
Last season was Brandon Allen’s first stint as the Hogs’ full-time starting quarterback. Unfortunately for Allen, an injury he sustained to his throwing shoulder in September contributed greatly to his wildly inconsistent and rather unimpactful sophomore season. He was forced to miss a ton of practice time, thereby limiting his effectiveness.
But this season has been different for a rejuvinated and a (finally) healthy Allen. The numbers on the season won’t blow anyone away – 43-of-70, 552 passing yards, 10 total TDs – but it’s been the efficiency of Allen that’s been the most impressive aspect to his game.
So far, he’s thrown just one interception all year and that came on a busted blocking assignment against Auburn when Allen was hit as he was thrown. He’s shown the ability to execute the play action plays very well, which can be especially effective with a dominant rushing attack like Arkansas has. Allen clearly has the arm strength and the wits about him to be a capable SEC quarterbak.
And Sumlin sees that as he prepares his defense for Allen and the Razorbacks this Sunday.
“Brandon Allen has really improved as a passer and in being accurate and in the play-action game. You can’t score that many points just running the ball all the time.”
Allen’s improved accuracy has been a big reason for his 2014 success. In his past two seasons, Allen managed to complete on average just 46.25 percent of his 307 passes. This year he’s on pace to be much better, completing 61.4 percent of his 70 passes. When Allen has time to throw in the pocket – and with his offensive line thats more often than not – he’s able to make virtually any throw.
“They’re going to make you defend the run and try to defend the top, get behind you with the deep balls and keep the chains moving with the intermediate passing game,” Texas A&M defensive coordinator Mark Snyder said. “It’s no secret what we’re going to see Saturday.”
Dubbed as the “best kept secret in Fayetteville” by head coach Bret Bielema, Arkansas’ passing attack is certainly more formidable this season, thanks to Allen’s obvious improvements. His performance and decision-making against Northern Illinois has caught the attention of the Aggies and he should be one future opponents will certainly need to game-plan for later this season.
“Sure they’ve scored a lot of rushing touchdowns, but they’ve gotten loose deep on people…they’re running the ball really well, and their play-action game has become much better. They’re a much improved team over last year,” Sumlin said about the Hogs.
“You go on the road and beat a Big 12 team by three touchdowns, then come back and beat Northern Illinois, I’d argue they should be a top-25 team.”
If the Razorbacks are to be a top-25 team as Sumlin says they should be, Allen will need to play a big role in getting them there.