One of the Dick brothers will start, which one, Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino won’t yet say as the Razorbacks’ opening quarterback against Mississippi State Saturday in Starkville, Miss.

“ I am sure you are all wondering about the quarterback, ” Petrino said after the Hogs completed Thursday’s drills inside the Walker Pavilion. “ I haven’t decided who will be the starter just yet. I kind of have it in the back of my mind who it will be. But we’ll go through the meetings tomorrow before I announce who it is going to be. ”

Casey Dick has started 28 consecutive games which of course includes all 10 for these 4-6 Hogs under firstyear coach Petrino. However Casey Dick suffered a concussion when the Hogs last played, Nov. 8 in a 34- 21 loss at South Carolina.

Nathan Dick quarterbacked a touchdown drive in relief of his brother, who had thrown three interceptions against South Carolina before the injury.

Nathan quarterbacked during last week’s open-date practices while Casey recuperated. Both have practiced on equal footing this week for the first time.

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Has the competition made them better ?

“ I think so, ” Petrino said. “ They have both been focused and it’s been nothing about brother. They both are very competitive and spent a lot of extra time in the video room. They have both worked really hard to get ready and that’s why I will probably play both of them. ”

Petrino has used a twoquarterback system before.

“ I did that a lot at Louisville where the second quarter I brought a guy in, ” Petrino said. “ He played the second quarter all year long and it worked pretty good that year. ”

As for the starter, Petrino said the starter will know who is starting by tonight rather than just before Saturday’s kickoff.

“ I’ll tell them tomorrow, ” Petrino laughed while talking Thursday to media, “ when we are on the trip and away from all you all. ”

Petrino said he’s liked how star running back Michael Smith has recovered from a Nov. 8 shoulder injury at South Carolina. He also said the Texarkana twosome of former Arkansas High Razorbacks Brandon Barnett and Dennis Johnson did enough good things relieving Smith in the second half at South Carolina and in practices since to warrant more time even with Smith back full bore.

“ Brandon and Michael will both carry the ball, ” Petrino said. “ Brandon has done a nice job working hard at it. We still need to get D. J. the ball too some because he’s got the explosiveness to go the distance. Between the three of them, we’ll see a lot more of Brandon and Dennis than we have. I’ve been pleased with Michael. He’s got his quickness back. ”

Also, offensive guard Grant Cook, out several games with a knee injury, and defensive ends Adrian Davis and Damario Ambrose, also not playing recently because of injuries, are all healthy and back in the rotation.

Although not healthy enough to return to game action, freshman quarterback Tyler Wilson (mononucleosis ) and cornerback Jerell Norton (hamstring and hernia ) are able to do some individual drills to start working for spring practice.

Wilson played so little that the UA will appeal for a hardship to restore his eligibility.

Against Ole Miss (Houston Nutt ), Tulsa (Gus Malzahn ) and South Carolina (Ellis Johnson ), the Razorbacks have faced old faces in new places. Now comes another.

Louis Campbell, the former Razorback defensive back from Hamburg lettering from 1970-72 and returning to his alma mater as either defensive backfield coach or football operations director or both in parts of some seasons from 1990-2007, is finishing his first year as Mississippi State linebackers coach under Sylvester Croom. Campbell and Croom both worked together as assistants at Alabama.

Croom said there are some advantages with Campbell’s knowledge of Arkansas, but ultimately, “ the players decide the outcome on the field. ”

Arkansas safety Matt Harris, coached by Campbell two years ago, concurred. He said the Hogs have faced so many former coaches now it’s nothing new.

“ We haven’t talked about Coach Campbell being there, ” Harris said. “ With Coach Campbell it’s just is another week in the SEC. ”