When it comes to comparing the local-product quarterbacks in the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic, Missouri's Chase Daniel, of Southlake Carroll, wins in star power, statistics and Heisman votes.

But the steady progress of Arkansas' Casey Dick, an Allen product, in the Razorbacks' run-oriented offense is worth noticing.

Dick can compete with most anyone in persevering through criticism and playing through controversy.

He has strung together the best performances of his career of late, matching a school record with four touchdown passes against Mississippi State and making crucial completions in the Hogs' upset of then-No. 1 LSU in the regular-season finale. The junior is tutored by offensive coordinator and former Dallas Cowboys offensive assistant David Lee, who Tony Romo credits for helping his meteoric rise.

"Casey has been a work in progress," interim head coach Reggie Herring said. "Being perfectly honest with you, he hasn't got much respect at all. As the season went on, leading this football team the way he did, and finishing the way we did, at some point in time we have to give him a little bit of respect and credit for how he's come on."

Dick's completion percentage has improved from 49.2 last season to 57 percent this season. He's 131 of 230 for 1,498 yards, 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions. His pass efficiency rating, 129.7, ranks fourth in the SEC, higher than Georgia's Matthew Stafford, a Highland Park product, and LSU's Matt Flynn.

In the last six games, Dick is 59-of-90 for 651 yards and 10 touchdowns, with a completion percentage of 65.6 .

"The last couple games, I felt like I played pretty good football," Dick said. "The last half of the season was fun."

In drama-filled Fayetteville, that definitely hasn't always been the case.

Dick won the starting job as a sophomore, but a back injury limited his play. Decorated home state schoolboy freshman Mitch Mustain stepped in, and led Arkansas to eight wins. First-year offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn was Mustain's high school coach.

But former Arkansas coach Houston Nutt replaced Mustain with Dick early in a win over South Carolina. Dick started the final five games last season, creating much dissention among Arkansas faithful.

Mustain eventually transferred to Southern Cal in a messy affair. Malzahn left for Tulsa as offensive coordinator.

Even as the clear-cut starter this season, Dick didn't exactly wow Hog nation at the start. Arkansas dropped its first three SEC games. In the game before his strong showings against Mississippi State and LSU, he struggled with two interceptions in a 34-13 loss at Tennessee.

"Critics are going to be critics – they're always looking for somebody to criticize," Dick said. "Sometimes they don't know what's going on. They've never been put in that position. But you've got to forget about it. You can't listen to them. ... You've got to listen to the people that care about you."

Dick credits much of his improvement to Lee. Romo appreciated Lee, the Cowboys quality control assistant for four seasons, so much he brought him to the Pro Bowl last season. Lee returned to Arkansas, his third stint at the school, in the midst of the Bill Parcells turnover.

Dick is "playing the best he's played all year right now," said Lee, who is following Nutt to Mississippi after the Cotton Bowl. "What good quarterbacks do, they play consistently week in and week out, and he's starting to do that. I wish we had three more games with him."

Lee is the type of coach, Dick said, who won't ever back off stressing and analyzing fundamentals. And he uses some unusual tactics to work on them.

"We do a bunch of crazy drills," Dick said. "His main thing is fundamentals, fundamentals."

Lee harped on two things the most – Dick not opening up enough when he threw to the left, and his tendency to overstride, which caused his passes to sail high.

To fix the latter, Lee required Dick to warm-up with a cinder block placed in front of him. If Dick's foot hit the block, he was striding too far.

Other drills included setting up a ladder, complete with shoulder pads, about six feet in front of Dick. Dick had to get used to looking over the ladder to hit targets.

Another drill featured Lee rolling footballs at Dick so he became used to throwing when he didn't have the space to take a step and throw.

"I've seen him make a lot of progress in that area," Lee said.

Dick also tossed balls into trash cans to develop the right touch on fade routes.

Dick, whose younger brother, Nathan, is a redshirt quarterback at Arkansas, said he's having more fun as he becomes more consistent. His teammates have noticed more confidence in the huddle.

And Dick has help. National standouts such as running back Darren McFadden, a two-time Doak Walker Award winner, and center Jonathan Luigs, the Rimington Trophy winner, limit what he's required to do.

Dick said he's not going to worry about trying to keep up with Daniel in the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Day.

"I just want to go out there and have fun; you can't put any added pressure on you," Dick said. "I have to keep progressing, keep getting more consistent. That's where the focus is."

Position: Quarterback

Height, weight: 6-2, 216

Class: Junior

Hometown: Allen, Texas

Notable: Has passed for 1,498 yards, 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions this season. ... Dick passed for 1,942 yards and 14 touchdowns as a senior at Allen in 2004. He also rushed 401 yards and eight touchdowns that season.