Nathan Emert joined the huddle like he’d been there all season. He wasn’t nervous and he certainly wasn’t caught up in the moment. But no one would have blamed him if he had been. Just moments before at Reynolds Razorback Stadium, Arkansas starting quarterback Casey Dick was blasted by Florida International defensive back Ashlyn Parker.

Dick, who would later be diagnosed with a concussion after being transported to the hospital, stumbled off the field early in the second quarter — never to be seen again in the Razorbacks’ 58-10 victory over the Golden Panthers (0-8 ) on Saturday.

“ Any time your quarterback goes down, it’s usually like, ‘ Oh, now what do we do ?’” senior guard Robert Felton said. “ But when Casey went down and Nathan went in, there was like no dropoff. ”

With the Razorbacks (5-3 ) leading 17-0, Emert entered the game and played the final 41 minutes, 11 seconds of regulation. Against a team that had lost 19 consecutive games, he completed 13 of 25 passes for 154 yards and threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to split end Marcus Monk in the second quarter. Dick, on the other hand, was 4-of-6 passing for 36 yards and an interception.

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“ You just have to be ready when anything happens, ” Emert said. “ You have to go one play at a time and not worry about it. ”

Two years ago, Emert was the starting quarterback at Missouri Southern — a Division II school. And it had been almost 24 months since Emert took the majority of snaps in a game, having spent last year working on the scout team and this spring battling Dick for the starting job — a competition he would end up losing.

But when called upon Saturday, Emert looked calm, cool and collected. Immediately after Dick’s injury, Emert led the Razorbacks on an eight-play, 68-yard scoring drive. He lofted a well-placed pass to senior fullback Peyton Hillis that covered 25 yards and set up a two-yard touchdown run by Darren McFadden.

“ He’s a very smart guy and he knows the offense real well, ” said Hillis, who made six receptions for 77 yards. “ He threw the ball real well and he showed a lot of character. ”

Before this weekend, Emert had attempted only six passes this season. He completed five of them for 112 yards and one touchdown — giving the coaching staff the faith that he was capable of managing the game if called upon to do so.

“ Nathan has done nothing but progress, ” said Arkansas offensive coordinator David Lee, who is Emert’s father-in-law. “ He doesn’t get the reps but he tells me every week, ‘ I know what to do and I’m ready if you need me. ’ He proved that today. ”

For much of the fall, Emert knew he was Arkansas’ only other option at quarterback if Dick was knocked out of the game. Dick’s brother, Nathan, is redshirting this year after arriving on campus in August. So what happens if Dick is unable to start next week against South Carolina in ?

Emert, like a starting quarterback used to being in front of the klieg lights and cameras, skillfully dodged the question.

“ I’m just going to celebrate this win and we’ll start working on South Carolina, ” he said. “ But I’m ready for whatever they need me to do. ”