TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Cole Kelley got his shot Saturday night for Arkansas at Alabama. It could be that he’s going to be getting more chances, eve after a 41-9 loss to No. 1 Alabama.
With Austin Allen’s injured shoulder leaving him in doubt for up to three more weeks, Kelley might be the quarterback again for Arkansas in the next game against Auburn.
There is one sure thing, the 6-7, 268-pound redshirt freshman won’t shy away from the moment. That was the take from both head coach Bret Bielema and senior captain Frank Ragnow.
“Cole believes he can beat the New England Patriots,” Ragnow said. “That’s what Coach B says and I believe that.
“It’s rare to see that in a redshirt freshman. He’s the type of guy that you feed off of his energy.” He believes. He is going to have some growing pains, but he’s got the right attitude, the right mindset.”
Kelley said it’s about competing.
“I love big games,” he said. “It’s good to hear that our players are excited about me playing.
“I get anxious and excited every game, whether I’m starting or not. I figure I’m one play away from being in the game. I always have butterflies.
“I just looked at it as a great opportunity. I’m not a glass half empty guy. I’m a glass half full.”
Kelley might have brought energy, but Alabama brought physical speed in a runaway that wasn’t in doubt after the first quarter. The Crimson Tide scored on the game’s first play and was coasting at 17-0 at the 7:24 mark.
If there was a chance, it disappeared on the last play of the first half when Kelley’s pass from the Alabama 3-yard line for tight end Cheyenne O’Grady was well defended by Ronnie Harrison. The Tide celebrated as they headed to the halftime dressing room with a 24-0 lead.
Alabama was not its usual self. There were three muffs by punt returners, one recovered by the Razorbacks. Quarterback Jalen Hurts threw his first interception of the season, setting up a field goal. Those two turnovers doubled the Tide’s total in its first six games.
Arkansas reduced its turnovers from last week when four led to 24 points. Kelley had an interception on a deflected pass thrown into tight coverage.
“Cole can try to do a little too much,” Bielema said. “The interception will be a good teaching moment. He has to learn to get rid of it.”
Kelley took five sacks, but he completed 23 of 42 for 200 yards. He hit Jordan Jones for the lone Arkansas touchdown, a 3-yard slant with 3:03 left to set the final score.
Jones also caught a 46-yard bomb on a diving catch late in the first half to give the Hogs some life. He caught four passes for 72 yards.
Kelley completed 13 of 21 for 97 yards in the second half when the Hogs went with a faster temp, trying to keep Alabama from subbing into its pressure packages.
It probably was clear the Hogs could not run against the Alabama front, despite going to a new offensive line with its most physical group. Ragnow moved from center to guard with Zach Rogers taking the snaps. Brian Wallace got his first start of the season at right tackle. Johnny Gibson, fighting through a knee sprain from last week, moved to left tackle. Left guard Hjalte Froholdt was the only offensive linemen to start in his same spot.
“We didn’t know if we would have Johnny until Thursday,” Bielema said. “He tweaked his medial collateral ligament last week. He feels more comfortable at left tackle. We wanted to go with some bigger bodies.”
Kelley’s sack totaling minus-37 helped Alabama limit the rushing attack to 27 net yards on 29 carries. Devwah Whaley made 18 on five tries and Chase Hayden just 10 on nine carries.
If the Arkansas front blocked any creases, the Alabama linebackers and safeties closed in a flash.
“Give Alabama credit, but we were starting four new guys in five positions. Auburn has a good defensive line, too, but we wanted to go with pure size,” Bielema said.
Colton Jackson had started the first five games at left tackle, but Bielema said, “We are not putting him out to pasture yet. He’s done some good things.”
The thought all week had been to battle with more intensity.
“We wanted to strike, fight, scratch, scratch, roll and do anything to be more physical,” Bielema said.
Ragnow said there might have been some personal rust in his move to right guard, his position of two years ago.
“I probably made some errors, but I tried to play my butt off,” he said. “Zach deserved a chance to start at center. I think Brian Wallace deserved a shot to play right tackle.
“I believe in these guys. The vibe was way better tonight than at South Carolina. Of course, I want to see the tape, but I don’t think anyone folded or backed down.
“I don’t think we played physical against South Carolina. Our attitude wasn’t right, especially in the second half. I didn’t see heads down tonight.”
Told about Ragnow’s comments about the vibes, Kelley said, “Honest to God, I hope we feel good. We have warriors. But we can’t be satisfied with this. I don’t want to step on the field if I don’t think we can win. You don’t think you can win, stay on the bus.”
The exact diagnosis for Allen was not revealed, but Bielema said there was good news after an MRI on Monday. The feeling might have been worse on Sunday.
“Sunday was a dark day,” he said. “But we found out on Monday that it was one to four weeks. He could play this week against Auburn. We don’t know. The issue is swelling. But he’s going to come back to play for his senior season.”
Kelley knew it was his week on Monday.
“We weren’t trying to put out a smoke screen,” Bielema said of comments during the week that Allen was day-today.
“He wasn’t ruled out Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. But we knew it was going to be Cole no matter how fast (Allen) healed.”
The plan was set to scale back certain aspects of the offense.
“Simplicity is your best friend,” Bielema said. “We just wanted to limit things and try to be more physical.
“There is some excitement with Cole. That’s not to say Austin doesn’t bring some excitement. They like Austin, but the like Cole, too. There was definitely a buzz in practice, a buzz before the game and at halftime.”
Bielema said the mindset was better.
“We just asked our guys to go swing for swing with them,” Bielema said. “We did make some mistakes. We were over zealous in our pursuit. The backside linebacker has to make the play on the opening play. It was just a simple stretch play.”
Clay Henry can be reached at chenry@nwadg.com .