However well you expect Casey Dick to play this season, raise your expectations. Even then, the senior from Allen, Texas, might just surprise you.

Bold statement ?

Sure.

Crazy statement ?

Not hardly.

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How was this conclusion developed ?

First, by watching Dick compete in spring practice and second, by listening to his head coach speak about quarterback coaching techniques Wednesday during the Arkansas High School Coaches Association Clinic.

Arkansas head football coach Bobby Petrino kept more than 300 prep coaches glued to the edges of their seats for more than an hour as he spoke about the ins and outs of coaching the most important position on the gridiron.

If anyone in attendance didn't believe Petrino was an expert on the subject prior to his presentation, they had drank the Kool-Aid by the time he was finished.

Petrino opened up his quarterback drill book for the coaches in attendance and detailed the fundamental work his signal-callers go through each day at the beginning of practice.

He went over eight quick drills that warm up a quarterback from head to toe and focus his mind and body on the position's proper techniques. Better still, the regimen can be finished in just 10 minutes of practice time after the players are used to them.

Concentrating on technique and fundaments from the start of practice sends a message that everything a quarterback does on the field should be performed with precision and accuracy.

It sets a tone for the quarterbacks that nothing less than their best is expected and, since the position is one of leadership, that tone trickles down to the rest of the players, who also have technique-specific drills for their positions, as well.

If my own technical football knowledge was more expanded, I would offer a run down on the drills, but I'd hate to steer someone in the wrong direction if I missed a detail here or there.

But, the point is that Dick and his fellow Razorbacks quarterbacks are being coached to a degree they have never experienced before as Hogs, and that experience will produce results that should help the Razorbacks be more successful than most preseason projections would lead you to believe.

In his three-year career, Dick has thrown for 3, 270 yards. If he is healthy for all 12 regular-season games and starts them all, he could conceivably throw for 2, 500 or more yards this season. Doing so would vault him up to fourth on the Hogs' all-time passing list, thanks to the balanced style of offense Petrino has brought to Fayetteville.

Should Dick throw for 2, 500 yards this fall, he would only trail Clint Stoerner (7, 422 yards ), Matt Jones (5, 857 yards ) and Barry Lunney Jr. (5, 782 yards ) on the list and surpass such Razorbacks luminaries as Brad Taylor (4, 802 yards ), Bill Montgomery (4, 590 yards ), Quinn Grovey (4, 496 yards ) and Joe Ferguson (4, 431 yards ).

To be fair, Montgomery and Ferguson compiled their yardage in just three seasons, while the other Hogs on the list each played four, and everyone should understand a quarterback's value is not solely judged by passing yards.

Billy Moore, Jon Brittenum and Fred Marshall were great Razorbacks signal-callers, whose guts, leadership and determination led Arkansas to the greatest era of football in the program's history during the early- to mid-1960 s, but their passing numbers were anything but impressive.

However, Arkansas fans who have hollered for a progressive passing game since the mid-1980 s should finally get their wish with Petrino coaching and calling the shots.

In fact, if Petrino remains the Hogs' coach for five or more seasons, expect one of his quarterbacks to overtake Stoerner as the school's all-time leading passer.

Petrino expects Dick to have a good season, particularly after diagnosing a fundamental flaw in his passing motion early in the spring.

Some may have noticed inconsistent velocity and accuracy on Dick's throws. Petrino said it came from poor footwork. Dick wasn't getting his back foot under his hip before his release.

The effect had him throwing the ball with just his wrist, hand and arm. Petrino explained velocity and accuracy are improved greatly when a quarterback gets his legs and hips into the throw, as well.

The results were evident during spring drills, and that leads me to believe they will be on the field this fall, too.

Dick looked like a different quarterback during the bulk of the spring, because with improved fundamentals and much repetition, he was.

Terry J. Wood is the sports editor of the Northwest Arkansas Times.