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By NOAH TRISTER AP Sports Writer
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- Mitch Mustain said all along he was no savior and that Arkansas fans needed to be patient while he adjusted to the college game.
Then, on his first series as a Razorback, he led Arkansas on an 80-yard touchdown drive in only 1:39, making patience even harder to come by around Fayetteville.
"Mitch has really come on, so we're going to give him an opportunity," coach Houston Nutt said.
Mustain will start at quarterback Saturday night when the Razorbacks host Utah State. He entered in the fourth quarter of last weekend's season opener, a 50-14 loss to No. 3 Southern California. After an impressive first drive, Mustain threw an interception on the Razorbacks' next possession -- he finished 4-for-6 for 47 yards.
Less than 24 hours later, he had replaced Robert Johnson atop the depth chart. Mustain will become the eighth true freshman to start at quarterback for Arkansas -- and almost certainly the most heralded.
"I still have a lot to prove, if to nobody else but myself," Mustain told a group of reporters in Fayetteville this week. "We've got to win games."
At this time last year, Mustain was a high school senior at Springdale. He was one of the nation's top quarterbacks, and he'd thrilled his home state by saying he would become a Razorback.
Arkansas went 4-7 in 2005. Meanwhile, Mustain led Springdale to a 14-0 season and a state championship, throwing for 3,817 yards and 47 touchdowns. After briefly reopening his recruitment, he decided to stick with the Razorbacks, joining several of his high school teammates who also signed with them.
Now, Mustain is being coached by a familiar face at Arkansas -- new offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn was the coach at Springdale last year.
Mustain said early in the preseason that he had a lot to learn. He even talked of redshirting if he couldn't get up to speed quickly enough. Johnson started the opener, and Mustain was his backup. But as USC started to pull away, the crowd became restless. Fans cheered loudly when Mustain entered the game, and all eyes will be on him again this weekend.
Nutt, who started three games as a freshman at Arkansas in 1976, says his team is adjusting well to the switch.
"Change is always hard," Nutt said. "It's always hard for maybe two or three players to accept, but overall, it's been good."
Johnson has moved to wide receiver. Casey Dick, who started the last four games of 2005 but was limited by a bad back this preseason, is the backup quarterback.
Amid the hoopla surrounding Mustain, not much has been said in Arkansas about Utah State. The Aggies lost their opener 38-7 at Wyoming.
Utah State coach Brent Guy has noticed that the Razorbacks' offense looks different under Malzahn. Arkansas is using more motion in place of power running.
"They have changed a lot of what they have been in the past. We might see something different, but we are anticipating seeing the style of play that they played USC," Guy said. "I wouldn't think they would change their structure because Utah State is coming to town."
Utah State will try for its second win against a Southeastern Conference team. The previous one was a 35-6 victory at Kentucky in 1970.
"We are excited to play and obviously we have a lot of things we can work on," Aggies fullback Ryan Bohm said. "It will be an opportunity to show some people that we really can play and that last week was an unfortunate experience."
Bohm led the Aggies last season with 340 yards rushing. Utah State, which plays in the Western Athletic Conference, and Arkansas are two of only six schools in the nation that return their leaders in passing, rushing, receiving and tackling from 2005.
The Razorbacks' top rusher a season ago was Darren McFadden, the 2005 SEC freshman of the year. McFadden dislocated his toe in late July in a fight outside a Little Rock club, but he started against USC and rushed for 42 yards.
McFadden's improved health sparked some initial excitement last weekend, but this week he's flying under the radar. Arkansas' prized freshman is starting at quarterback, and the spotlight is on.
"It's exciting," Mustain said. "It's something I've been working for."
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APTV-09-08-06 1145MDT
