Dick’s Career Ends in Dramatic Fashion

LITTLE ROCK — Quarterback Casey Dick hadn’t forgotten any detail of his final pass Friday night. It’s safe to say he probably won’t for the rest of his life.

It was a go route on fourth-and-1. LSU was in man coverage. Dick knew receiver London Crawford excelled at fade routes, so he simply dropped back, put the football in the air and called it a career.

“It’s amazing when something like that happens,” Dick said. “That was a great way to end it.”

Dick’s final game, final series and final pass as a Razorback was one for the record books Friday.

The senior came off the bench, replaced his younger brother Nathan, and led the Razorbacks to a stirring 31-30 come- from-behind win. He completed 18 of 29 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns, included the 24-yarder to Crawford with 21 seconds left.

It was the third time this season Dick had led Arkansas from behind in the fourth quarter. He orchestrated comebacks against Western Illinois and Louisiana-Monroe. But he saved his best for last.

“You just take your hat off to Casey and feel great for him,” Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino said. “He’s a guy that has fought through a lot. He’s had a lot of controversy here in his four years, different offenses he’s had to try to learn in a hurry and execute. And he’s always done it with a great attitude and smile on his face and an ability to lead the other players.

“You can’t say enough about his ability to finish his career with that throw and beating LSU.”

The storybook end was even more amazing considering Dick had planned to spend his final game watching his younger brother, Nathan, under center.

Dick fell out of the lineup after struggling at South Carolina. He watched his brother play against Mississippi State and prepared to do the same Friday.

But Nathan Dick hurt his thumb after throwing an interception late in the second half Friday. Petrino said Dick wasn’t gripping the football as well as he needed to after halftime and made a change.

“I was warming up to get loose, came to the side and Coach Petrino said, ‘You’re in,’” Dick said. “I was like, ‘OK.’ I just had to take it and move the team.”

Arkansas center Jonathan Luigs said it was a lift to see Dick on the field again. It gave the Hogs incentive after falling into a 30-14 hole in the third quarter.

“It kind of lit a fire in me and made me want to play harder for him,” Luigs said. “Especially with everything he’s had to go through up here.”

Dick got the Razorbacks in the end zone on his second series when he tossed a 46-yard touchdown pass to receiver Jarius Wright. Then Dick led Arkansas on a 17-play, 90-yard drive that was capped by Alex Tejada’s field goal early in the fourth quarter.

LSU stymied the Razorbacks until late in the game, when Arkansas went back on the field with 2 minutes, 14 seconds remaining. Dick completed a third-down pass to Wright early in the drive. Then he added a fourth-down completion to Carlton Salters.

Three plays later the Razorbacks faced fourth-and-1 from the LSU 24. Dick lined up and tossed the ball toward Crawford in the corner of the end zone. When it hit Crawford’s hands, Dick raised his arms in the air, squatted down and gripped his facemask in disbelief.

“It teaches you a lot about life,” Dick said about the end of his career. “It teaches you that you’ve got to get up one more time when you get knocked down.”

After the game ended, Dick hugged teammates like Luigs, Crawford and safety Matt Harris. He did a couple of interviews for national media outlets.

He also embraced quarterback Ryan Mallett, who is redshirting this season. Dick said Mallett had a message for him before the final game of his career.

“He came in and he’s like, you’re going to get in the game and throw the game-winning touchdown,” Dick said. “I thought he was crazy. But things happen.”