ANDY SHUPE Northwest Arkansas Times Arkansas senior quarterback Casey Dick, center, drops back to pass during the first half of the Hogs ’ 28-24 win over Western Illinois Aug. 30 in Razorback Stadium.

Say what you want about Casey Dick. What you can’t say is that he’s not ready to carry the burden of Arkansas’ offense into the Hogs ’ Southeastern Conference opener at home against Alabama Saturday.

Arkansas’ senior signal-caller has endured the gamut of experience at Arkansas. Dick has been under the tutelage of two head coaches in two very different systems and four offensive coordinators in four years. And each season, Dick has been forced to prove his worth and earn his starting job time after time after time.

The Allen, Texas, native has outlasted back issues that caused him to hand over his starting job to Robert Johnson in the 2006 season opener. Dick coped with the hype of hometown hero and Parade Magazine Player of the Year Mitch Mustain for a year, as well as the soap opera that ensued.

Even entering his senior season, Dick has dealt with the meticulous analysis of experts who harbored doubts about his ability to transition himself into the passer new Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino required to guide his complex offense.

But through it all Dick never wavered, never lost his patience under intense scrutiny and never lost sight of his goal. And the senior is now right where he hoped he’d be all along, heading into Arkansas’ SEC opener as the starting quarterback.

“ I’ve been though a lot to get to this point, ” Dick said. “ I’ve just tried to worry about the things I could control. You hear all of that talk but you just focus on what you’re here to do and that’s play football. I knew if I did that everything else would take care of itself and it has. ”

Saying Dick has exhibited mental toughness through the deluge of criticism is vastly underplaying the magnitude of his resilience.

“ We’ve put a lot on his shoulders and he’s getting a lot more confidence, ” Petrino said. “ He’s been in situations now where the pressure’s been on him more so he’s a little more used to carrying that load. He understands the offense better and he’s just got to keep progressing. He’s been doing a nice job of making changes at the line of scrimmage to make sure we don’t get ourselves in a bad play. ”

Dick has taken on his new role with fervor. He accumulated back-to-back, 300-yard passing games, each time ascending his career-high to orchestrate consecutive rallies against Western Illinois and Louisiana-Monroe.

“ He’s had two very good games that a team should win when he plays like that, ” Petrino said. “ His yardage and percentage are good. His taking care of the football could be better. He had a touchdown over the middle in the second quarter last week where the ball was just a little underthrown. That just comes from his technique and footwork not being where it has been. But overall I think he’s done a nice job of operating the offense. ”

Dick threw for 318 yards on 25-of-41 passing in a 28-24 comeback win over Western Illinois. Dick even ran for a careerlong 23-yard score on a key, third-and-10 play to cut the deficit to 17-14 midway through the third quarter. He converted a clutch, fourthand-10 pass and capped the game-winning drive with a 4-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Dick said he’s labored diligently to meet Petrino’s expectations but credited the new Head Hog for restoring his poise.

“ Since Coach Petrino has been here, I’ve learned a lot about base defensive structures, blitz schemes and different coverages, ” Dick said. “ It’s helped me a lot to have him here. It makes you a lot more confident and comfortable with what you’re doing out there, making reads, getting the ball to your receivers and letting them make plays. ”

The senior again roused a Hogs’ awakening with two, fourth-quarter scoring tosses to give the Razorbacks a 28-27 win after falling behind 24-6 late in the third quarter against ULM. Dick connected on 22 of 34 passes for 323 yards in the win.

“ It was good for us to feel that pressure and get that experience of having to come from behind, ” Dick said. “ Now when we have to come from behind in a big game, I think we’ll be ready to go. ”

Although Dick has racked up lofty stats against inferior foes, Petrino contends Dick won’t have to modify his approach for the much tougher Crimson Tide.

“ I really don’t think he’s going to have to do a lot differently, ” Petrino said. “ He’s just got to keep taking what the defense gives him, keep working on his timing. He was pretty good the other night, despite some drops, and he was very accurate with his passes. I thought in the second quarter he lost a little bit of focus on his technique, which hurt him on a few throws. Other than that, I thought he operated really well. ”

But a good scrambler ? Despite being sacked eight times in two games, Dick is slowly gaining the reputation as an elusive pocket presence after running for three touchdowns in two games.

In the past, Dick has been labeled a liability in the pocket because of his lack of mobility. Dick said Petrino has altered his perception and has encouraged the senior to take the run if there’s open field ahead. Dick, though, never thought he’d live to hear himself called a scrambler.

“ Never in my life, but I’ll certainly take it, ” Dick joked. “ It’s just something you’ve got to do when it’s given to you. If you can make plays with your feet to put yourself in a position to win, that’s what you have to do. ”

Dick knows he will have to do a lot more than that to have a chance against Alabama on Saturday.

“ We have to watch a lot of film, ” Dick said. “ You have to throw the ball on time. You can’t throw late. You can’t take two hitches when you’re supposed to take one. If the call is a three-step, you’ve got to stick a three-step drop. You can’t second-guess yourself. ”