By Robbie Neiswanger
Arkansas News Bureau • rneiswanger@arkansasnews.com

FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas junior Tyler Wilson said the pressure has been pretty intense.

It tends to happen when you play quarterback for Bobby Petrino. The Arkansas coach expects perfection from the leader of his offense. He places them under constant duress and his frustration is obvious when they make mistakes.

“He’s always tough on me,” Wilson admitted Saturday. “That’s just the way he coaches. But I think he has made me a better quarterback.”

Arkansas hasn’t named a starter for 2011, but Wilson appeared to take another step in the race to replace Ryan Mallett during the Red-White Game in Razorback Stadium.

The Greenwood native led the White to a 45-14 win in front of an estimated crowd of 42,000, completing 12 of 25 passes for 242 yards with three touchdowns.

It wasn’t a perfect performance, but much better than his primary competition for the job. Sophomore Brandon Mitchell struggled to run the Red team, completing 11 of 29 passes for 85 yards with three interceptions.

“He’s had a good spring,” Petrino said of Wilson. “The one thing that Tyler really does is complete passes. There’s even been days when I’ve come off the practice field mad at him, frustrated a little bit because of calling the play wrong in the huddle or not doing something in the run game. And I look at his stats and he’s 34-for-39. He can really throw the ball and complete passes. His understanding of the offense just keeps getting better and better.

“I thought he was really poised and made good decisions. That was the goal for him – have poise, be comfortable, make good decisions.”

Wilson did Saturday, guiding the White to touchdown drives on its first three possessions against a defense that sported regulars like defensive end Jake Bequette, linebacker Jerry Franklin and safety Elton Ford. Arkansas felt it had divided the teams evenly for the game, which was televised by ESPN. But it didn’t keep Wilson from completing three passes of 40 yards or more, throwing touchdowns of 57, 8 and 12 yards and helping White overwhelm Red.

“His spring ended well,” said Arkansas receiver Jarius Wright, who caught five passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns. “He looked real good back there at quarterback.”

That wasn’t the case for Mitchell, who struggled to find any success Saturday.

Offensive coordinator Garrick McGee said the sophomore had some problems in the spotlight, making mistakes he had avoided in previous practices. Safety Tramain Thomas was the first to capitalize on Mitchell’s struggles, intercepting a pass near the goal line on his first series. Mitchell never really recovered.

Safety Darrell Smith later intercepted a pass and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown to make it 28-0. Thomas grabbed his second interception of the game in the second quarter.

“This is Brandon’s first time in front of a big crowd as possibly the leadoff quarterback,” McGee said. “I think he struggled some with just the intensity and the crowd being there. There’s a lot of throws that he missed that he hit every single day at practice when no one was around. … I think the crowd got to him.”

Mitchell wasn’t helped by several dropped passes by receivers Saturday. But he shouldered his share of the blame after the scrimmage.

“I just tried to rush things and give the defense credit they made plays,” Mitchell said. “My footwork got out of whack and the defense took advantage of it and made plays.”

The good news for Mitchell is that Arkansas made it clear afterward the starter would not be determined by the Red-White Game alone.

Arkansas plans to evaluate the entire body of work for both quarterbacks. It’s a process that won’t end now that spring practice is over.

“We’re going to go into two-a-days and give them both an opportunity,” Petrino said when asked if Wilson had solidified himself as Arkansas’ starter on Saturday. “I want to see them work over the summer, show leadership over the summer. They have a lot of responsibilities they have to take care of over the summer.”

But Wilson’s play this spring, in addition to his experience last year, helps his cause.

He performed well in relief of the injured Mallett in back-to-back Southeastern Conference games last season and has appeared to survive Petrino’s quarterback boot camp this spring.

The fact he completed less than 50 percent of his passes Saturday is one sign there are improvements to make, but Wilson realizes it.

He also took a moment to acknowledge the fact he enjoyed a pretty good game Saturday. One that may have helped him take another step closer to becoming Arkansas’ starter in 2011.

“I’m going to keep competing until I’ve heard,” Wilson said about the starting job. “But I take it as it’s my team to push and work with. I’ll just continue working.”