Wilson stands out in Arkansas spring game

Fayetteville, Ark. — An occasional jersey switch made all the difference for Tyler Wilson.

Wilson played for both the Red and White teams in Arkansas’ spring game Saturday night, but it was his work with the Red squad that stood out. He went 14-of-16 with that group for 169 yards and a touchdown, and the Red team won 49-21.

Wilson and Ryan Mallett have been competing for the No. 1 quarterback spot during spring practice, which ended with Saturday’s scrimmage.

“I don’t know if I made a push,” Wilson said. “I felt more comfortable. Things seemed to flow.”

The Red team included Arkansas’ top players, such as wide receiver Joe Adams and tight end D.J. Williams. Wilson seemed to thrive when surrounded by that supporting cast. With the White team, he was only 9-of-20 for 132 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Mallett, who played for the Red team, went 15-of-26 for 233 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Coach Bobby Petrino said he’d discuss the quarterback situation this coming week.

“I kind of know what we’re going to do there,” he said.

Former Arkansas star Darren McFadden was on hand for the scrimmage, played in front of an announced crowd of about 30,000. Last year’s announced attendance was 40,200.

It was raining Saturday afternoon, but the sun came out before the game. It was decent passing weather, but both Mallett and Wilson threw interceptions early in the first quarter.

“Both quarterbacks I thought showed that they can execute the offense,” Petrino said. “They just had two bad decisions early in the game.”

Mallett’s interception came on a short pass that shouldn’t have been thrown.

“I was just sliding to the left, throwing to the right,” Mallett said. “It’s the cardinal sin.”

Mallett, a transfer from Michigan, is eligible to play for the Razorbacks for the first time this fall. He’s received more hype than Wilson, who played sparingly for Arkansas last season while then-senior Casey Dick took most of the snaps. Mallett and Wilson were listed together atop the depth chart before spring practice began.

Each quarterback had his moments Saturday, but the running game was inconsistent. De’Anthony Curtis opened the scoring for the Red team with a 55-yard run 51 seconds into the game, and Adrian Moore broke free for a 60-yard touchdown on a fake reverse for the White team in the fourth quarter.

Other than that, the running backs didn’t do a whole lot. Michael Smith, a 1,000-yard rusher last season, is recovering from a hamstring injury and didn’t play.

The Red team went for it on fourth down four times in the first half, converting twice en route to Mallett’s 9-yard scoring pass to Williams 10 seconds into the second quarter. After another fourth-down conversion, Broderick Green made it 21-0 with a 1-yard touchdown run.

“We missed a few things here and there,” Williams said. “But the improvement from last year is black and white.”

The Razorbacks went 5-7 last season.

Wilson’s 50-yard touchdown pass to Greg Childs made it 21-7, but Mallett led the Red team back down the field in only 58 seconds. His 14-yard scoring toss to Adams with 20 seconds left in the second quarter made it 28-7.

After the extra point, the teams took a break for halftime even though there was still time on the clock — a perfect example of how casual the scrimmage was. There were a few other quirky rules: Quarterbacks weren’t hit, punts weren’t returned, there were no kickoffs and the second half was played with a running clock.

And of course, Wilson played for both teams. He threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to London Crawford in the fourth quarter to put the Red team ahead 42-7.

“I felt like I was playing musical jerseys a bit,” Wilson said. “I got a lot of reps.”