ShareThisBy RON HIGGINS
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Arkansas quarterback Casey Dick must feel as if he's bought a ticket to a movie that's already in progress. He walks in and declares, "Hey, isn't this where I came in before?"
Tennessee quarterback Jonathan Crompton, who's watched the show from mostly afar this season, has finally got a front row seat for the biggest Southeastern Conference football showdown this weekend.
Dick, a former starter, and Crompton, a first-year backup, have spent most of this season lingering on the sidelines as the No. 11 Razorbacks (8-1) and the No. 13 Vols (7-2) have dispatched most of their competition.
When the two border rivals meet Saturday night for the first time since the 2002 game won in six overtimes by Tennessee, 41-38, Dick and Crompton have moved from being understated understudies to prime-time starters.
Dick, a 6-2, 211-pound sophomore from Allen, Texas, who didn't play until starting the last four games last season, lost his starting job at the beginning of this season because of a nagging back injury. Last Saturday at South Carolina, he came off the bench early to replace struggling starter Mitch Mustain and threw for 228 yards and one touchdown in a 26-20 victory.
"Any guy who steps in this situation is going to be excited about the opportunity he has," Dick said. "You try to prepare every week like you're going to get your number called."
Crompton, a 6-4, 225-pound redshirt freshman from Waynesville, N.C., was forced into action against LSU last weekend when starter Erik Ainge's sprained ankle limited his mobility. In the first extensive action of his college career, Crompton threw for 183 yards and two touchdown bombs that forced LSU to rally for a 28-24 victory.
Nutt is counting on Dick to be Mr. November again. Last season, Dick went 2-2 as a starter in the last four games of a 4-7 season.
He completed 53-of-99 passes in that stretch for 584 yards, seven touchdowns and four interceptions. His wins were over Ole Miss and Mississippi State, and his losses were to South Carolina (14-10) and No. 3 LSU (19-17).
While Mustain has played fairly well, he still has that inexperienced QB tendency to make ill-advised throws. He threw an interception on his first pass attempt in each of his last two games.
When he did it last week at South Carolina, Nutt wasted no time going to Dick. The bottom line is that with defenses stacked to stop the Hogs' SEC-leading rushing attack, Nutt needs a quarterback who can victimize defenses who cheat to stop the run.
"Casey made great decisions with the ball, and that's what experience does under pressure in a hostile environment," Nutt said.
"When you've been in this situation before and you have the experience of playing in tough places, you have confidence," said Dick, who has completed 25-of-40 passes this season for 450 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. "I know what to expect when I go out there. It's about getting the ball to playmakers."
Shouldering a load:
Crompton, a Parade All-American from Waynesville (N.C.) Tuscola High, where he threw for 6,757 yards and 62 touchdowns as a three-year starter, was redshirted last season as a freshman after surgery for a torn labrum in his right (throwing) shoulder.
He probably would have been redshirted anyway, because the Vols didn't need a quarterback to add to their two-ring circus of Ainge and Rick Clausen.
Instead, Crompton got to watch a quarterback rotation that produced few big plays and a 5-6 season, Tennessee's worst since 1988.
"It wasn't the best feeling in the world," Crompton said.
"Sitting out the season helped me. I sat back in the shadows, saw how things happened, looked at how to handle them and hope it doesn't happen again. The whole season surprised me. Tennessee isn't supposed to go 5-6."
For Crompton's sake, it would have been nice if he could have gotten more game experience earlier this season.
He had mop-up time in four games (California, Marshall, Memphis and South Carolina) and completed 4-of-4 passes for 44 yards before having to go most of the way last week in the loss to LSU.
Still, despite his inexperience, he made just a couple of bad throws and misread a couple of routes against an LSU defense that's ranked No. 1 in the nation.
"I was proud of Jon Crompton, the effort and the fight he had," Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said.
Fulmer also has respect for the Hogs' Dick _ "He has experience and he throws the ball well," Fulmer said _ as does Nutt for Crompton, who Nutt said has "a little bit of fire to him."
As for both quarterbacks, since they've been on the bench most of the season, they expect to play like they have nothing to lose on Saturday.
"It's about executing and having fun," Dick said.
"Make a mistake, and you've got to forget it and drive on," Crompton said.
