FAYETTEVILLE -- Some college football coaches seem to thrive upon quarterback controversies.
They especially are apt to foment them in the spring. Competition is good for the quarterbacks and good for the team, they say.
No one disagrees competition is good. But others prefer the team, fans, media and even the disinterested know there is one quarterback absolutely in charge.
Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema seems firmly in the "I want my guy in charge" camp. He just proved it again.
With today's scrimmage, three spring practices and the April 23 Red-White game remaining, Bielema took to Twitter on Thursday night proclaiming fourth-year junior Austin Allen the Razorbacks' starting quarterback.
"The fifth Arkansas edge is we EARN EVERYTHING," Bielema tweeted with the capital letters and also issued through a news release. "That is why today I announced to the team that Austin Allen is our starting quarterback."
Practically from the December 2012 day Bielema was hired, a segment of Razorbacks fans clamored for somebody, anybody, other than Brandon Allen -- the son of longtime Arkansas defensive coach and administrator Bobby Allen and older brother of then-Fayetteville High School senior Austin Allen -- to quarterback the Razorbacks.
After Brandon Allen -- an emergency starter as a redshirt freshman for injured senior Tyler Wilson -- was swamped along with interim coach John L. Smith during a 52-0 loss to Alabama in 2012, some were more than ready to move on to the next backup.
Bielema surveyed the situation and immediately deemed Brandon Allen his best available quarterback for the 2013 season.
Other than two occasions when too injured to play -- a 2013 loss at Rutgers and the second half of a 2014 SEC victory over Ole Miss -- Brandon Allen quarterbacked every meaningful Arkansas snap for three years.
Allen and the shambles Bielema inherited from Smith and the untimely demise of the Bobby Petrino regime struggled to 3-9 in 2013. They evolved and improved in 2014 and 2015 to 7-6 and 8-5, with bowl victories over Texas and Kansas State.
Brandon Allen improved so much he might be chosen in this month's NFL Draft.
Now Austin Allen takes over, the most advanced of Arkansas' four quarterbacks in spring drills. Austin Allen was a 2013 redshirt freshman before becoming the backup to his brother in 2014 and 2015. This spring, he seamlessly operates the first offense while a third-year sophomore and two freshman redshirts continue apprentice and compete to be the backup.
Quarterback is unique, the only position of 22 Bielema would take such public pains to announce a starter.
But it's not the only position worth watching.
For the remainder of this Arkansas spring with senior Kody Walker (broken foot) and sophomore Rawleigh Williams III (coming off neck surgery) not scrimmaging, ex-quarterback Damon "Duwop" Mitchell fast becomes THE running back like Austin Allen is THE quarterback.
Sports on 04/16/2016