Remembering Ryan Mallett
It is always tragic when someone passes away. It’s especially tragic when that person is just 35 years old and is investing in a group of young men by being a High School Football Coach.
Whenever someone around my age passes away, the fragility of life never fails to dawn on me. When I heard the news of Ryan Mallet’s tragic death on June 27th, I couldn't help but to pause and consider life.
While I don’t have anywhere close to a personal relationship with Ryan Mallett, when you spend time watching a sport you do feel a personal connection with those players that you are observing.
For that reason, I felt as though I wanted to write an article highlighting his sporting career, specifically his time at Arkansas. This time-frame does not define his life, but for many of us it defines our relationship with him. So hopefully you enjoy going on this journey right alongside me.
You can look up the college football reference for all the knowledge of his career. In short, Mallett started at Michigan and finished at Arkansas. In his time at Arkansas he set or got into the top 5 of pretty much every relevant passing stat. He was a phenomenal college Quarterback who led some really entertaining teams coached by that wild-card Bobby Petrino.
If I could sum up his play-style in one short word it would be: Mallett.
Rarely do names and play-styles mesh so well.
He stood at a massive 6 '6 and 240 lbs and if I could compare him to one phenomena it would be an Easter Island statue. The man could not and would not move. Just like a mallet, there was nothing quick about his game, it was all about ruthless power.
That ruthless power of the mallett came from the bazooka attached to his right arm. The offense was perfectly designed to unlock this weapon of mass destruction.
Under-center, deep dropbacks, and play action passes. I believe this clip (and others… by the way woof on video quality back in the day) is the perfect example.
His issues often came from believing in his arm too much, but it often led to moments of brilliance such as this play.
Are you kidding me? That thing was on a ROPE.
In this game Mallett had a bit of a clutch gene as well. I love this play that showed the confidence in the moment to make the quick decision to beat the high low coverage.
There is something so tantalizing with players that are like Mallett. You see them and you say, “THAT’S who I want to be my quarterback.” For some reason, these guys rarely work out in the pro’s and even in college it can be a challenge. However, Mallett finished his career as the best Quarterback in Arkansas history. In this scenario, he was the quarterback that you wanted for your team.
Ryan Mallett, gone too soon.