FAYETTEVILLE — Austin Allen threw lightly on the sidelines prior to Arkansas’ loss to Auburn and Bret Bielema didn’t rule out the senior quarterback playing Saturday at Ole Miss.
Still, there’s likely a good chance redshirt freshman Cole Kelley makes his third consecutive start in place of Allen, who is recovering from a shoulder injury suffered Oct. 7 at South Carolina.
Whoever winds up playing, the Razorbacks hope they’ll be able to help Jonathan Nance get back on track.
The junior receiver was a breakout star for the offense early in the season, emerging as Arkansas’ top target by catching 23 passes for 374 yards and five touchdowns the first five games of the season. But he’s only logged four catches for 28 yards and no scores the last two games.
He still ranks in the top 10 in the SEC in receiving, but hasn't been as much of a factor the last two weeks.
“We need Jonathan Nance to come back,” offensive coordinator Dan Enos said. “He’s been a couple games here where we haven’t had a lot of production from him and I think he’s capable of a lot more than that.”
Nance’s downturn coincides with Kelley taking over the reigns of the offense for the injured Allen and the matchups against Alabama and Auburn, two of the best defenses in the nation. The Razorbacks averaged 207.2 yards per game with Allen as the starter, but just 181.5 the last two weeks as the combination of a young quarterback and shoddy offensive line that has given up 12 sacks during that time.
"The last two games we played with me starting were against two of the best defenses with really good defensive backs," Kelley said. "It's a lot more press man. They're not going to give us easy off-coverage throws. They're going to make it a lot more difficult."
Enos mentioned getting off the line against press coverage and coming down with contested balls as areas for improvement for the whole receiving corps.
Defenses also no doubt took note of Nance’s early season production, which included a 100-yard, one-touchdown performance against Texas A&M and a 116-yard, one-touchdown showing at South Carolina.
“More defenses were trying to focus more on him, but then that gives me and Jordan (Jones) and all the other receivers more of a chance to get open because I guess they're not really focused on us as they are on Nance," sophomore receiver Deon Stewart said.
Adjusting to a new quarterback after establishing a rapport with Allen probably plays a role in the quiet two weeks, too. Continuing to establish chemistry with Kelley will continue to be important for Nance and the rest of the receiving corps.
“It's just going to take extra work," Kelley said.