DALLAS - When it comes to comparing the local-product quarterbacks in the Cotton Bowl, Missouri’s Chase Daniel, of Southlake Carroll, wins in star power, statistics and Heisman votes.

But the steady progress of Arkansas’ Casey Dick 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 over then-No. 1 LSU in the regular-season finale. The junior is tutored by offensive coordinator and former Dallas Cowboys offensive assistant David Lee, whom Tony Romo credits for helping his meteoric rise.

"Casey has been a work in progress," interim 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 passing efficiency, 129.7, ranks fourth in the SEC, higher than Georgia’s Matthew Stafford 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 .656.

"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 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 grumbling 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 that 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."

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