FAYETTEVILLE — Bret Bielema called Ty Storey and Cole Kelley into his office Tuesday morning to let them know he and offensive coordinator Dan Enos had cooked up a plan to create separation in Arkansas’ backup quarterback race.
The duo had split the second-team reps behind senior starter Austin Allen to that point in fall practice, but Bielema and Enos decided to give each more of a chance to shine entering the third week of camp. Tuesday, Storey took all the second-team reps. Those snaps will go to Kelley on Wednesday.
The decision was in line with Bielema’s sentiments Saturday during media day.
“I'm trying to get them to separate themselves," Bielema said.
Storey threw two touchdowns to receiver Jonathan Nance during his extended look Tuesday. The sophomore beat a blitz with a quick throw on one and lofted a fade on the other.
“When you have to go in for two plays and come out, you don't really get that rhythm with the guys,” Storey said. “But when you're out there all day — especially in move the ball situations — it feels really good."
Storey backed up Allen last year while Kelley, then a true freshman, redshirted. They’ve been locked into a competition since the beginning of spring practice and had comparable days Saturday during the Razorbacks’ first scrimmage of fall camp.
Kelley unofficially completed 8 of 12 passes for 60 yards while Storey went 9 of 15 for 47 yards. Both worked with the second-string offense for the first half of the scrimmage before taking reps with the starters in the second half while Allen was given the rest of the day off.
“It's kind of like they decide before practice what kind of practice they're going to have," Bielema said. "If one of them does well, the other does well the same day. If one of them is maybe less than to be desired, the other one does the same thing."
The pair has different playing styles.
“Cole obviously has attributes that are his strengths: his arm, his size. He definitely lacks nothing in confidence. He thinks he can do anything," Bielema said. "Ty is very quiet. He quoted his father there after practice in what we call cheer. Ty doesn't make many mistakes. He's very grounded. He makes a couple plays where you're like, 'Whoa, he was able to get some things done.'"
Storey completed 1 of 4 passes last year in limited action behind Allen, including a 1 of 3 showing on the road against Auburn with Allen battling a knee injury. Over the summer, he worked with Enos and former Oklahoma State and NFL quarterback Zac Robinson to tweak his throwing motion.
“It was kind of a long, slow release," Storey said. "I don't know where I picked it up, if it was some drill I was doing or something. But something just got out of whack. Kind of just going back from the basics and just starting learning how to throw again.
"In high school, I just threw it. There was no thinking about it. I think I started thinking a little too much about it (in college). Getting back to just feeling it and throwing it has been nice."
At 6-foot-7 and 268 pounds, Kelley may be the most physically gifted quarterback on the roster, but his arm strength and confidence got him in trouble on several occasions during the spring, leading to forced throws and interceptions. He didn’t throw a pick Saturday and looked more comfortable taking check down opportunities.
“I always used to try to force balls and so I could just do one step better than Ty," Kelley said. "Just, naturally, in a competition, that's what you want to do. I had a meeting with coach Enos after the spring and he told me I just need to focus on me and not the battle. And that's what I started to do. I think I've started to read the defense better and started to get the checkdowns a lot better."
There are still more than 3 weeks before Arkansas opens the season, but Bielema and Enos are hopeful Kelley or Storey steps up and makes a move toward claiming the backup job this week.
"We push each other," Kelley said. "Just the fact I've been competing with him, I've come so far in just one year. It's just a really healthy competition."