If you ask Dan Enos who the best quarterback in the SEC is heading into the season, there’s no doubt which player he’d select.

During his Wednesday media availability, the Arkansas offensive coordinator was breaking down the current competition for the backup quarterback duties between Ty Storey and Cole Kelley. According to Enos, part of the reason why it’s so hard to select the team’s second-best option under center is the fact senior Austin Allen has set the bar so high for the team’s other QBs during camp.

“Austin, it’s hard to get him out. When he’s in there, we function like a different team when he’s in there — as you’d expect from a fifth-year senior that’s played as much football as him,” Enos said. “He’s been really, really good this camp.

“His feet, his decision making. He’s thrown one interception, knock on wood, the whole camp. We don’t count the ones that bounce off guy’s facemasks and things like that. He’s had great decision making and been very accurate in both of our scrimmages. Extremely well on third down and doing different things with our cadences, checks at the line of scrimmage. He’s moving along, so it’s tough to get him out of there.”

While Allen, who was recently named to the Manning Award Watch List, has only one season of starting experience under his belt, he stepped into the role ready to play last fall. His first two games featured a game-winning touchdown drive to beat Louisiana Tech and a game-tying last minute drive, capped off by catching a two-point conversation, to force overtime in an eventual win at TCU. That game was won when Allen would not be denied on the goal line and ran for the game’s final points in double overtime.

His production took a downward spiral late in the season, but after taking more hits last year than some quarterbacks take in a career, it’s understandable that Allen was the not the same player physically as he was when the 2016 season began. The Razorbacks gave up 35 sacks last season, only South Carolina gave up more amongst SEC teams.

If Enos is to be believed, and Allen has taken his game to another level this fall, there’s a strong case to be made that the league’s best quarterback heading into the 2017 season plays in Fayetteville.