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Senior quarterback Casey Dick is looking to have his best season as a Razorback thanks to the new offensive scheme installed by head coach Bobby Petrino.

Confident Casey

Dick looks to succeed in new system

By: Bart Pohlman

Posted: 8/25/08

For the first time in his collegiate career, Casey Dick is undisputed.

The Arkansas quarterback is just that - Arkansas' quarterback.

There are no more Robert Johnsons, Mitch Mustains or even Darren McFaddens to take his position from him.

It's all his and it will be all his when Arkansas opens its season Saturday against Western Illinois.

It will be quite the new experience for Dick, who has never been the clear-cut starting quarterback. At least, not until now.

During his freshman year, Dick was the backup to Johnson for the first half of the season before taking the starting spot for a game against Ole Miss.

In his sophomore campaign, an injured Dick was again passed over in favor of Johnson to start the season-opener against Southern California. After Johnson was moved to wide receiver, it was the highly-touted freshman Mustain, not Dick, who became the starter. Mustain eventually was shelved - and later transferred - allowing Dick to start the final four games, in which the Razorbacks went 1-3 after starting 9-1.

Last season, Dick started all 13 games for Arkansas, but often split time at quarterback with McFadden. Some critics even wondered if the Razorbacks would have been better off with McFadden taking snaps all the time.

Now, however, there is no quarterback controversy - Dick is the starter.

And after spending much of the past three seasons handing the ball off to the likes of McFadden and Felix Jones, Dick will finally get the chance to show off his arm in the new offensive system introduced by first-year head coach Bobby Petrino.

Installing a new offense isn't always easy on a quarterback, but Petrino said Dick's coachable nature has helped make the transition easy.

"What we do is just try to install our offense and try to really work hard on his technique," Petrino said. "I've been impressed with Casey on how much his technique has improved and how coachable he is. I think that's the greatest thing about him - he tries to listen to exactly what you say and then tries to do it the next time.

"That gives him a chance to keep getting better and really have a good year for us."

Arkansas offensive coordinator Paul Petrino said Dick has worked hard to learn the new system, and the results are showing up every day at practice.

"I think he did a great job of working hard all spring to improve," Paul Petrino said. "He's worked really hard at learning the offense and learning the system."

UA quarterbacks coach Garrick McGee said Dick has been attentive to detail at practice and is open to learning how to improve.

"We had heard a lot about Casey Dick, but since we've been here he has really worked," McGee said. "His eyes are open, he's listening and he's interested in being a fantastic player. We're teaching him the fundamentals and the details of the position. Bobby [Petrino] talks to every coach on the staff about being an expert at your position. He talks to our players about learning every possible detail about your position.

"Casey has really been doing a good job of being open to learning."

Confidence is a big part of success both on and off the field, and Bobby Petrino said the confidence Dick exudes is leading to high expectations.

"[Dick's] much more confident, there's no question," Bobby Petrino said. "He knows that we have high expectations for him. He's starting to have those same expectations for himself."

Paul Petrino said the coaching staff has worked hard to put players, including Dick, in position to have success.

"I think you have to put guys in position to give them confidence during practice so they see themselves having success," he said. "Then they walk around with a little more bounce in their step and feel better about themselves. Everything is about confidence. If you feel confident, you're going to play better.

"I think it's important for [Dick] to have success. We've always built our offense around the quarterback being successful and having confidence. We try to do things early in the game or early in a series so they get into the flow and feel good about themselves. That's how we all are. If you feel good about yourself and are confident, you're going to play better, coach better, be a better husband or whatever it is."

While being a better husband won't help Dick on the football field, his confidence level will.

But confidence isn't the only part of a recipe for success. McGee said Dick still has plenty of work to do in order to improve.

"We've got a lot of work to do," McGee said. "His fundamentals and techniques have to be right, but then he has to execute all that in a split second once the game starts."

McGee said he thinks if Dick continues to work hard and show high levels of confidence, he'll be in for a standout season.

"It's a challenge, but I expect him to have a big season," McGee said.

"Without a doubt, I expect him to get out there and have a fantastic season."