Hogs QB will assist Mannings

Allen a counselor at esteemed camp

Arkansas offensive coordinator Dan Enos, behind, watches as quarterback Brandon Allen goes through drills during practice Saturday, April 11, 2015, at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Brandon Allen will kick off his senior year at Arkansas with an invitation to work as a counselor at the prestigious Manning Passing Academy.

Allen leaves today for the 20th anniversary edition of the academy, which is held on the campus of Nicholls State in Thibodaux, La., and is the brain child of Archie Manning and sons Peyton and Eli Manning, the first family of quarterbacks in the United States.

Arkansas career passing leaders

YDS. PLAYER YEARS

7,765 Tyler Wilson 2008-12

7,493 Ryan Mallett 2009-10

7,422 Clint Stoerner 1996-99

5,857 Matt Jones 2001-04

5,856 Casey Dick 2005-08

5,782 Barry Lunney Jr. 1992-95

4,802 Brad Taylor 1981-84

4,590 Bill Montgomery 1968-70

4,496 Quinn Grovey 1987-90

4,431 Joe Ferguson 1970-72

4,023 Brandon Allen 2012-

"It's going to be awesome and a lot of fun," Allen said Tuesday. "It's a huge honor just to get invited to it. I'm hoping to go down there, have a good time, mentor some kids and maybe learn a thing or two about football while I'm down there."

Archie Manning started the camp in 1996 at Tulane University with about 185 participants. Its popularity has soared over the years, and the Mannings have to cut off enrollment at 1,200. A release from the National Football Foundation said campers from 47 states and Canada will attend this week's camp.

The Mannings do not actively publicize the list of invited players in advance, but it has numbered around 40 college and professional quarterbacks in recent seasons who help mentor about 1,200 campers. More than half of the quarterbacks in the NFL have attended the academy as either a counselor or a camper, according to the National Football Foundation.

Mississippi State's Dak Prescott, a counselor last year, is expected to return, and various media reports list Southern Cal's Cody Kessler, Stanford's Kevin Hogan, Cal's Jonathan Goff and Penn State's Christian Hackenberg among the quarterbacks expected to work the camp.

Allen is coming off a year in which he passed for 2,285 yards with 20 touchdowns and 5 interceptions and helped the Razorbacks to a 7-6 record and a 31-7 rout of Texas in the Texas Bowl.

Allen said he anticipates Arkansas will generate a little more interest at next week's SEC media days than in the past couple of years.

"We're excited about going down there," he said. "We have a lot more preseason buzz, a lot more things going on in the program right now. We're all excited about it, but it's not going to pressure us. It's not going to make us tense up or anything.

"We have higher expectations for ourselves than what everyone else is giving us. We're getting better. We're going to be a better team than we were last year, but it's about coming out each and every Saturday and proving that."

Allen said he appreciates what the Mannings mean to football.

Archie Manning was a star at Ole Miss and went on to play for the New Orleans Saints, the Houston Oilers and the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL. Peyton Manning was a standout college player at Tennessee before moving on to the NFL, where he won a Super Bowl title with the Indianapolis Colts and is currently the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos. Eli, Peyton's younger brother, followed in his father's footsteps and went to Ole Miss before moving on to the NFL, where he has led the New York Giants to two Super Bowl titles.

"The whole family is just a model of playing football the right way and being good at what you do," Allen said. "They're the kind of quarterbacks where you never heard about off-the-field problems out of any of them. They're kind of straight-arrowed. They like to have fun out on the football field, and that's kind of how I like to play my game."

Allen said he's focused this summer on mastering the new offense installed by coordinator Dan Enos in the spring, bringing along younger players, improving his footwork and adding arm strength.

"I think the quarterbacks have to be the person on the whole team that knows the offense second-best, right behind the offensive coordinator," Allen said. "I want to know it better than the position coaches."

Allen said Enos wanted all of the quarterbacks to improve on arm strength.

"By at least a few yards, and he's given us a few drills and some long-toss type stuff to go through that," he said. "I think all the quarterbacks are getting stronger arms."

Sports on 07/08/2015