FAYETTEVILLE — The injury report is good for Arkansas' trip to South Carolina this week. It may even be that Austin Allen has his father back on the sideline.
Bobby Allen missed last week's 42-24 victory over New Mexico State. It's the first game the UA staffer has missed of either of his sons since they were in high school.
Bret Bielema's director of high school relations had back surgery last week after sciatica pain decked Allen over the first part of the season.
“It got to the point to where I wasn't sleeping,” Bobby Allen said. “I'm a lot better now.”
Father missed his son's best game of the year, as far as the passing numbers go. Austin completed 19 of 26 passes for 264 yards. There were zero sacks.
It was a pain-free day for both Allens, with dad piled up at home in front of a television set.
“He told me watching it on TV was actually pretty good,” Austin said. “I can't remember him missing one of my games.
“He's getting around pretty good now. But he was looking like an old, old man a few days ago. He's a lot better.”
Better than that, Allen was clicking on third down. The Hogs converted 9 of 13. That puts them at 50 percent on the season, tops in the SEC and 10th in the nation.
“That's what we've talked about every single practice, every single workout since we started spring drills, third down conversion,” Allen said. “We have worked hard on that. Our goal is 45 percent, so we are ahead by a little bit.
“We'll work on it again in our Thursday practice, along with red zone plays.”
It's becoming apparent that Allen has found some trust for those critical plays. Most have latched on to his bond with newcomer Jonathan Nance in the wide receiver group. Nance leads the team with 15 catches. The next man on the receptions list is tight end C.J. O'Grady with nine.
“C.J. Is a big matchup nightmare,” Allen said. “He's got size and speed. He runs great routes. He can do things after the catch. He isn't going down. He's going to look for more yards and can do some really athletic things. He may jump over guys.
“I see him maturing more each day. He's taking another step up. If he keeps doing that, he's going to be like a Hunter Henry or a D.J. Williams. He has that kind of ability.”
O'Grady has asked to be called by Cheyenne, his first name.
“I think he goes back and forth between C.J., then Cheyenne,” Allen said. “He's a different sort of cat.
“I can tell you this, I'm looking for him. There have been some plays where he wasn't the first option, but I kinda skipped it and went straight to him. I like to get him the ball. He's running routes that get him open.”
The key is to continue to get Allen time to skip around on the routes. Offensive line coach Kurt Anderson said the key might be to continue to play more than his starting five.
“I think it is,” he said. “I think playing six or seven might be the right approach. We've learned that what we need to compete in the SEC is to be fresh up front in the fourth quarter. We might make that our advantage.”
One of the assets is versatility in Johnny Gibson. He starts at right tackle, but has slid over to right guard to give true freshman Ty Clary some rest.
“I don't see that as unusual,” Anderson said. “Johnny cross trained there last year. He even has played on the left side. I think he's ambidextrous.”
Some have suggested that's a difficult transition, but Anderson doesn't see it that way.
“I don't think the terminology between guard and tackle is that different,” Anderson said. “It's not like one position is Mandarin Chinese and the other is French. It's the same language.
“I've always thought you need to cross train. We do that in the normal course of practice. I did that in the NFL.”
Was New Mexico State was the best game for the O-line?
“I'm not sure I'd say that,” he said. “I thought we did well in a lot of areas against Texas A&M. We aren't perfect, but we definitely have made some progress. I think you are probably doing a lot of good things if you are leading the SEC in third down conversions.”