Arkansas Razorbacks News: Austin Allen’s Development and a Big Weekend at Baum

The jump that Brandon Allen made from year one as a starter to year two under Dan Enos was remarkable. This spring, Enos is trying to make the same jump with younger brother Austin. Enos has praised Austin for his attention to detail this spring and is using him as an example for the younger players to follow. Enos also talked a little about the backup QB spot. Right now Ty Storey and Cole Kelley are neck and neck for the spot.

CBS Sports did an informal ranking of college QB’s by tier as spring football rolls on. Allen falls in the “established starter” 4th tier right now. Only Jalen Hurts and Jacob Eason are ranked ahead of him in the SEC. Luke Del Rio and Kyle Shurmur are also in the same category.

Allen will have a lot of different players to throw to this season. One carry over from last season is Jared Cornelius. This piece goes into detail about the leadership role Cornelius has this year now that last year’s seniors have graduated. After a slow start to practice, he seems to have responded to Bret Bielema’s challenge to be a more vocal leader.

Freshman Jeremy Patton also looks to be a potential target for the Hogs this year. He had to delay his plans to enroll at Arkansas early, but he played a similar style to Dan Enos’ pro-style while in JUCO. That similarity in style and terminology should help Patton once he’s on campus in the summer.

Yesterday, the Diamond Hogs got a doubleheader sweep against Grand Canyon for their best start in seven years. The Hogs have a 24-6 record with a huge series against LSU this weekend at Baum Stadium. The weather forecast for the weekend has plenty of sun so the crowds at Baum should be big and loud.

The power surge at the plate is a huge reason for the Hogs turn around this season. For the first time since the major changes to bats in 2011, Arkansas is averaging over 1 home run per game. Their 40 round trippers leads the SEC by a wide margin and has started the hashtag #SooieVilleSluggers.