Petrino Waits To Name Starting QB

Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino indicated Thursday that he’ll likely play both senior Casey Dick and redshirt freshman Nathan Dick on Saturday.

As far as which brother will be named the starting quarterback against Mississippi State, that remains to be seen.

“I haven’t decided who will be the starter just yet,” Petrino said Thursday evening after the Razorbacks wrapped up preparations for this weekend’s game. “I kind of have it in my mind who it’ll be.”

Petrino said he plans to wait until Arkansas goes through its team meetings later today to inform the brothers as to which one will start against MSU.

Nathan Dick, who made his debut two weeks ago in the final minutes of a 34-21 loss at South Carolina, has received significant work with the first-team offense in practice this week.

Petrino said he has also been impressed with what he has seen from Casey Dick, who returned after missing all of last week’s practices because of a concussion suffered against the Gamecocks.

“I think they’ve worked real hard to get themselves ready,” Petrino said. “That’s a reason why I’ll probably play both of them.”

Petrino is no stranger to rotating quarterbacks. While coaching at Louisville, he said he decided before some games to play one quarterback early on and make a change at the start of the second quarter.

Petrino said he has been pleased with how Casey Dick and Nathan Dick have handled the quarterback competition over the past few days.

“I think they’ve both been focused and I’ve been impressed with how it’s been nothing about brother. I wanted to see how they’d react to that,” Petrino said.

“They’re both very competitive. They’ve both spent a lot of extra time in the meeting room, a lot of extra time watching video, a lot of extra time verbalizing the play and then visualizing it.”



Welcome Back

Arkansas freshman quarterback Tyler Wilson practiced for a second consecutive day, showing signs that he’s slowly getting over infectious mononucleosis, better known as mono.

Wilson was the backup quarterback to Casey Dick until last month, when the freshman was diagnosed with mono. The Greenwood native has spent the past two practices throwing the football.

“He’s better. He’s improved. He got the (clearance) to start working out a little bit,” Petrino said of Wilson. “Obviously, he came out in his helmet and threw the ball around a little bit. He can’t be around any contact, so he just threw some routes.”

Petrino said Wilson might be able to get a medical redshirt this season after playing in only two games, completing 11-of-22 passes for 69 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

“It was a tough deal for him,” Petrino said. “But there is a chance we’ll get his year back.”



Extra Points

• Petrino said redshirt freshman Grant Cook will likely rotate with sophomore DeMarcus Love at offensive guard on Saturday. Cook, who has been hampered by a knee injury, showed he has improved by going through practice this week.

• Cornerback Jerell Norton has been cleared to return to practice and has taken part in limited work over the past few days. However, Petrino said the junior will not play again this season.