Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
First-time starter again faces Alabama
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — For the second time in six seasons an injury forced the Arkansas Razorbacks to give a redshirt freshman quarterback his first start against No. 1 Alabama.
But this time it was an Allen brother who wasn’t able to start instead of being thrust into the role.
Cole Kelley made his first start for the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville because senior Austin Allen — who ended his consecutive starts streak at 18 games — was sidelined by a right shoulder injury he suffered against South Carolina last week.
In 2012 quarterback Brandon Allen — Austin’s older brother who is now with the Los Angeles Rams — started for Arkansas against Alabama because Tyler Wilson was recovering from a concussion the previous week against Louisiana-Monroe.
The results were similar for the Razorbacks.
Alabama won 41-9 Saturday night at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Crimson Tide won 52-0 at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in 2012 when John L. Smith was Arkansas’ interim coach.
Kelley gave a good account of himself considering the circumstances.
“I thought he battled,” said Arkansas senior Frank Ragnow, who moved from center to right guard on a shuffled offensive line. “He definitely didn’t look like a redshirt freshman with his attitude and confidence.
“I took a lot of pride in blocking for him.”
Kelley, 6-7 and 268 pounds, completed 23 of 42 passes for 200 yards and 1 touchdown with 1 interception.
“I just looked at it as a great opportunity for me,” Kelley said of making his first college start on the road against Alabama. “This is why I came here, to play teams like this on this kind of stage.
“I didn’t look at it in glass half-empty way. I looked at it as a glass half full.”
Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema said Kelley knew all week he’d likely be starting in place of Austin.
“Obviously, a tough situation for a new quarterback to walk into, but Cole gets you excited about some things,” Bielema said. “I think our guys were excited to play for him and play with him.
“I was excited to watch him play. Anybody that’s been around him, I think there’s a lot of positives he can build off of. … I thought his poise was good and his confidence level was there.
“I thought Cole didn’t some things that very, very positive. He’s a fighter, a competitor.”
Kelley said he appreciated hearing the confidence Bielema and his teammates have in him.
“That’s always good to hear when people are excited to play with you,” he said. “I think one of the big things a quarterback has to do is be a good leader and I take pride in that on day-in and day-out basis.”
Kelley said he was more excited than nervous about starting.
“It was a great atmosphere and I had a lot of fun, because I got to play football today,” he said. “And a lot of people don’t get that opportunity, especially not in an atmosphere like this.
“So I had a great time. I just feel like I would have had a lot more fun and I’d be a lot happier right now if we had won.”
After an interception by defensive back Kevin Richardson gave Arkansas possession at the Alabama 40, Kelley scrambled for a 13-yard gain to set up a 30-yard field goal by Connor Lambert that pulled the Razorbacks within 24-3 in the third quarter.
Kelley’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Jones on fourth down pulled the Razorbacks within 41-9 with 3:03 left.
“I thought I played all right,” Kelley said. “Just not good enough.”
Kelley came close to leading the Razorbacks to a touchdown on the final play of the first half.
After Kelley completed passes to Jones for 46 yards and to Brandon Martin for 13 and 14, Arkansas had a first down at the Alabama 3.
There were just 3 seconds left before halftime, and with Alabama leading 24-0, Bielema decided to go for a touchdown rather than a field goal attempt.
Kelley threw to tight Cheyenne O’Grady in the end zone over the middle, but Alabama safety Ronnie Harrison broke up the pass.
Kelley played off the bench in four of Arkansas’ first five game and completed 11 of 18 passes for 186 yards and 3 touchdowns with 1 interception and 9 carries for 42 yards.
“I’m anxious for every game whether I know I’m starting or whether I’m not,” he said. “You get those butterflies in your stomach before every game because even when I’m not starting, it just takes one play for me to get in.
“If Austin goes down, so I’ve always got those butterflies. This game wasn’t much different.”
Kelley was sacked five times.
“I feel fine,” he said. “I feel our offensive line did good. Most of those times I just didn’t get rid of the bal. I’ve got to be able to get rid of the ball.”
Bielema said at times there times Kelley tried to make a big play that might not be there.
“We knew that going in,” Bielema said. “He rides the highs and he tries to do too much. There were some good teaching moments for him.
“Any time you have a first start for a quarterback obviously there’s going to be the good and the bad. But we’ll make some strides and keep moving forward.”