Mallett "speaks" about drug use at combine
Ryan Mallett speaks, or rather doesn't speak about his alleged drug use at the NFL combine in Indy.
To see the video you will have to scroll the thumbnails underneath to find him. He is wearing a black #9 shirt.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=jc-newtonmallettinterviews022611
February 27th, 2011 at 12:35 AM ^
Who wuda thunk that these exemplary athletes would be doing drugs. NO ONE IN COLLEGE DOES DRUGS!
February 27th, 2011 at 6:10 AM ^
He's not just "no one" and he gets free college and is high potential NFL QB. And we are not just talking weed here, if that were the case 65% of the prospects would have drug rumors to address. We are talking a major drug problem(coke) and teams willing to pay him millions of dollars have every right to ask and probe him. He has such a gift and he's an careless idiot for being on the edge of throwing that all away.
February 27th, 2011 at 9:41 AM ^
if you are talking weed, you better increase that 65% to more like 90%
February 27th, 2011 at 10:53 AM ^
I've actually found there are some schools where this isn't true. I find these schools weird.
February 27th, 2011 at 11:53 AM ^
I would guess that suggesting 90% of D1 football players smoke ganja habitually is a gross over statement. That number would be significanly higher (probably several times higher) than the general student population which doesn't make good sense to me.
Lots of people do drugs in college but this idea that everybody or even most people are doing illegal drugs is not supported by studies. The CDC estimates 30% of college student have smoke pot in the last month.
I presume that cocaine use is relatively rare for college athletes.
February 28th, 2011 at 3:05 PM ^
You always hear people say (or tyoe in this case) that essentially everyone in university does drugs. The people that say that are generally people that do drugs (or have done drugs) wjhile in university and are trying to justify why they did it (isn't it funny how peer pressure works).
The problem is their research consists of observing people while they are at frat parties and the like. Problem is not all students attend these functions. So while 90% of the people there are on some sort of drugs, you are forgetting the numerous kids that don't attend such functions.
I am not knocking people who do ir have done drugs in their lifetime (god knows I did enough when I was younger), but the idea that "everyone is doing it" is something people say in an attempt to convince others to conform to their activities and isn't really based on facts.
Research would most definitely not support the idea that even 50% of university students use illegal drugs, let alone 90%....just sayin.
February 27th, 2011 at 2:29 PM ^
79.4% of all statistics are made up.
February 27th, 2011 at 12:36 AM ^
So basically he pulls a Mark McGwire and he's not here to talk about the past. Well at least not to the media, but only to the teams. Good luck with that Jeff Smoker 2.0
February 27th, 2011 at 12:49 AM ^
Mallett.
February 27th, 2011 at 1:10 AM ^
I was gonna start for Rodriguez, but then I got high.
February 27th, 2011 at 2:07 AM ^
I was gonna lead'em to 6-6, but then I got high. Now, I'm losing stock and I know why. Why man? Because I got high, because I got high, because I got high...
February 27th, 2011 at 12:59 AM ^
February 27th, 2011 at 3:28 AM ^
If you knew Ryan at Michigan, you wouldn't expect a no. He enjoyed talking, even when he shouldn't have.
February 27th, 2011 at 10:56 AM ^
Exactly. Just lie about it, at least to the media at large.
February 27th, 2011 at 1:07 AM ^
I thought the only interesting part of the story was his statement (clearly only one side of the story) that he only spoke with RR for ten minutes and they both decided that he should leave. That sheds a bit of light on the whole "did RR try to keep Mallet" question.
The strong-armed quarterback said his decision to leave Michigan was based exclusively on the change in offense after Rich 
“Coach Rodriguez had Denard (Robinson) do what he wanted to do and obviously if you’ve watched me play I can’t do that,” Mallett said. “So I thought it was best if I went somewhere else.”
Did Rodriguez try and keep Mallett a Wolverine?“I did talk to Coach Rod for about 10 minutes and we kind of decided it’d be best if I didn’t stay,” Mallett said.
In any event, Ryan, your agent is not doing well by you. He should get you a media coach asap.
February 27th, 2011 at 9:02 AM ^
Based on a *cursory* reading of most of your contributions, one might assume that you'd be in the "RichRod ran off his only good QB!!!" camp. That would obviously be very wrong. +1
February 27th, 2011 at 1:40 AM ^
When Mallett left Denard Robinson was not even on the radar...
...enough said
February 27th, 2011 at 3:19 AM ^
Exactly... Denard came in the recruiting class after Mallett left, and I believe he committed towards signing day as well. Don't trust what he says in that interview off of that.
February 27th, 2011 at 2:42 PM ^
I think he meant that Denard is an example of the type of quarterback RR was looking for, and in seeing him play the year after, affirmed his decision that he was not the type of quarterback that would fit into the system.
February 27th, 2011 at 2:10 AM ^
Mallett may have some issues, but there just doesn't seem to be much reason to doubt what he says about M and Richrod. Richrod wasn't going to adapt to Mallett's skills, so Mallett left.
Why do so many RR fans keep insisting that Mallett was gone no matter what? Where's the proof of that? I haven't seen any, aside from RR's quite vague (and not terribly persuasive) assertions that he "tried" to keep Mallett.
Of course RR would rather have seen Mallett stay in 2008. He had no other viable options. But was RR going to adapt to Mallett? Unlikely. Mallett saw the writing on the wall. Can't blame him for leaving.
February 27th, 2011 at 2:29 AM ^
that his offense can be adapted to such a QB but obviously ignorance is bliss. Mallett would've been a good stop gap for 1 year or more if he saw increased improvement as he did with Arkansas which by the way ran a passing spread. Wait what did RR run? Oh yeah the spread. Like I said ignorance = bliss.
February 27th, 2011 at 3:51 AM ^
is generally the same concept all around. Spread the field and either run/pass to the edge. You see those bubble screens? Part of the passing spread. Mixed with the downfield throws/routes. That's your passing spread offense. Anymore questions?
February 27th, 2011 at 9:45 AM ^
talented Threet, and if Threet hit a bunch of throws RR's first year, Michigan would have won a few more games. That said, RR would have still recruited Denard and co.
February 27th, 2011 at 2:22 PM ^
Mallett is just amoretalented Threet.
February 27th, 2011 at 5:04 AM ^
So when both Mallett and RichRod both say he left because they talked about it and came to the conclusion that he would be better off transferring, you come to the conclusion that it is unlikely RR would have adapted his offense, RichRod didn't try to keep him on campus, and you can't blame him for leaving. Seems reasonable.
Also, the fact that you say "Mallett may have some issues.....but I trust him over RichRod" is about all I need to come to the conclusion that it wouldn't have mattered what RichRod said, you were blaming him for Mallett leaving. Usually I like to take the word of a cocky self-centered 21 year old that still hasn't denied that he has drug problems who transferred from Michigan over the ex coach of said Michigan team.
February 27th, 2011 at 11:15 AM ^
What does RR have to do with this story? I'll answer it for you: absolutely nothing. But thanks for continuing to fight the Civil War.
February 27th, 2011 at 2:52 PM ^
I posted some of this before, but we need to kill this nonsense. RR talked about this 3 years ago.
http://blog.mlive.com/wolverines/2008/01/rodriguez_mallett_arrington_ma.html
(go about 2/3 of the way in on the radio interview playback).
He specifcally said he didn't talk to him before/during the Capital One Bowl, b/c he didn't want to get in the way. This is completely correct - people would have blown up if he started "coaching" the team about getting ready for next year while a) they still HAD a head coach (Carr) and b) they still had a game to play.
RR says:
"I talked to him about how our system could adapt to the quarterback, b/c we've had throwing quarterbacks in this system that have had great careers and gone on to the NFL and all that...I recruited him once, I recruited him twice, and after the third call, I'm thinking "Three times is enough for me. It's a great institution and if someone doesn't want to be here, I wish them well and move on."
Pair this info w/ his new, b*llsh*t quote about that RR "had Denard" (when Denard didn't commit to U of M until February 2009, a freaking YEAR after Mallet left), Mallet just doesn't want to talk about the off-the-field stuff that happened during his year at Michigan.
People do dumb stuff they'd later regret all the time when they are freshman, so I don't really care about that. That said, he shouldn't lie about other people. It shows he hasn't grown up.
February 27th, 2011 at 6:33 PM ^
You just can't seem to get off the topic of Rodriguez. We know your feelings toward him because nearly every post is about how bad he is. He's gone, move on, get over it.
Lets say Rodriguez ran him off. I say good, he's a spaz. Even St. Lloyd thought so. If he stayed and all these rumors persisted I'm sure you would have blamed the drug use on Rodriguez
February 27th, 2011 at 3:36 AM ^
My brother had a math class with mallett and said he was a complete tool. He was arrogant and cocky along with being clueless in class.
February 27th, 2011 at 8:29 AM ^
He was also a douchebag at Skeeps.
February 27th, 2011 at 9:44 AM ^
when he was 18?
February 27th, 2011 at 10:24 AM ^
(Most of their clientele weren't of age)
February 27th, 2011 at 4:53 PM ^
Believe me, he was there at least 2 nights a week. I was underage and drinking there as well.
February 27th, 2011 at 1:03 PM ^
Is him walking into a class before an exam and supposedly yelling, "Who's got a scantron for Ryan Mallett?"
February 27th, 2011 at 2:45 PM ^
Mallett took math?????
February 27th, 2011 at 2:59 PM ^
He probably paid more attention when they were talking about the metric system.
http://www.theonion.com/articles/metric-system-thriving-in-nations-inner-cities,458/
February 27th, 2011 at 8:55 AM ^
.....that Mallett actually remembered to show up for the combine personally, and that he showed up on time, from the looks of things. For this at least, he tried to stay clean, right?
February 27th, 2011 at 10:31 AM ^
I'm of the opinion that drug rumors aren't always indicative of NFL success one way or the other. For every Charles Rogers there's a Mario Manningham. Dan Marino also dropped to the 27th pick in the 1983 draft based on coke rumors too.
February 27th, 2011 at 11:43 AM ^
When Mallett left, I had mixed emotions. I concluded that he was a weak momma's boy who got homesick. At the same time, I felt bad criticizing someone for listening to his parents, enough to activate my internal "hypocrisy meter." Somehow, though, I don't think this is what his parents had in mind.
Kids of college age do drugs, whether or not they go to school and whatever school they attend. It's not exactly a "man bites dog" story; it's more like an old "Captain Obvious" Jim Carty column.
They get to make their own choices without the threat of punisment from parents, and choose to have fun. The lucky ones drink a little, smoke a little pot, maybe even become "party animals" for a few years, but don't do anything that damages them personally or professionally.
Those with bad genes or a warped sense of entitlement or invulnerability take it to far sometimes. I'm hoping it isn't the case, but there sure is a lot of anecdotal "evidence" around.
Mallett's best case scenario is that he drops in the draft, ala Marino, and it serves as a wake-up call. Being a spoiled, entitled momma's boy can turn someone into an asshole, but there are a couple of things they "learn" that they can use to turn things around in adversity.
First, they "learn" that everything is always going to be alright becuase they are the center of the universe and it always has been. The other thing that many of them learn but some don't is to focus their anger into succeeding if they don't get their way. Mallett sounds pissed. Some people are criticizing him for it, but I think it is the healthiest attitude he can have right now.
If he drops in the draft, he might go in with the "chip on his shoulder" attitude that coaches love to see if it is directed properly. Mallett may focus his anger into working harder than everyone else because he wants to get his way so bad.
On mgoblog, I have seen him compared to Dan Marino. And I have seen him compared to Ryan Leaf. I'm guessing he's somewhere in the middle. He may be talented, but QB;s with Marino's quick release, accuracy, and ability to perform in the clutch don't grow on trees. He may be cocky, but he certainly backs it up more than Leaf, and people tend to follow a cocky leader more than one who isn't.
The game is on. I just hope Mallett wakes up in time to participate.
February 27th, 2011 at 11:44 AM ^
The rumors about Mallett's alleged coke use seem to have knocked him out of the first round. I'm shocked by that but at this point it doesn't really matter what he says. I presume he's not categorically denying anything because he does not want to invite questions about specific drugs or does not want to make himself a liar. Either way, it appears to have tainted him significantly.
I am much more interested in his comments about why he left Michigan. He directly rebuts the convential wisdom that he was gone either way. I can't think of any reason why he would lie and say nice things about Carr and Loeffler to throw RichRod under the bus. To my knowledge, Mallett is the only person on record, by name regarding this subject.
RichRod had a HUGE problem with player retention--and not just Carr's players. He was having a problem keeping his own players. That's why in year 3, Michigan was still starting freshmen all over the place.
This fits into that narrative. RichRod was doing or not doing something that was making it very difficult to keep players--especially defensive backups. There is reason to believe that this inflexibility was the most important factor in RichRod's undoing.
February 27th, 2011 at 11:46 AM ^
The author describes Mallett as cocky and pompous regarding two different answers he gave. That can't come as a surprise to anyone who saw him arguing with Lloyd Carr on the sidelines in 2007. Ryan Mallett is a stereotypical, spoiled brat D-I QB who doesn't know how to deal with adversity in any sense of the word. I don't care about his "7,000 yards and 60 touchdowns" if he's just an asshole. Give me the humility of Denard Robinson any day.
February 27th, 2011 at 12:13 PM ^
I attended the last fantasy camp run by Lloyd and his assistants. LC told all of us that Mallett wanted to transfer BEFORE his freshman year. He was an early enrollee and he missed his friends and family as well as his high school life. Carr had the Malletts fly to Ann Arbor and convince their son to stick it out.
I don't blame Mallett for transferring away from RR's offense (he could see the writing on the wall) but at the same time, he never demonstrated any maturity or good judgment while at Michigan.
February 27th, 2011 at 12:47 PM ^
I'll take a different take than the other postings -- when Rodriguez ran Mallett out of town, Mallett took it like a man and never bad mouthed Michigan.
So I wish him all the best in trying to get to the NFL.
February 27th, 2011 at 1:47 PM ^
Instead of badmouthing Mallet, let's badmouth our former coach instead! Great idea!
Seriously, how about we badmouth neither? I know, novel idea.
February 27th, 2011 at 1:27 PM ^
Mallett being a tool does not mean Mallett is lying about why he left. I've not heard a single person, including RR, make a persuasive case that RR tried to keep the kid. Just a lot of posters saying "trust me" and "my brother's friend said."
The point is that RR and his fans do an awful lot of woe-is-Rich based on what the coach inherited in 2008, and blame Carr for the leaving the cupboard board. I'll agree that Carr hadn't left a top-caliber roster-- recruiting had been meh. But, if nothing else, he set RR up with Ryan Mallett. Most incoming coaches would have been cool with that. But RR just had his system, and that was that. He wasn't gonna put his system on hold for 2 or 3 more years. He said as much.
Maybe it was for the best. He got Denard, after all. I say maybe only because of Mallett's potential -- I bet Carr would have reigned him in, just as he reigned in plenty of other immature players. Regardless, let's not pretend that RR had no control over the attrition, or that he was "stuck" with Sheridan/Threet.
February 27th, 2011 at 2:52 PM ^
You realize that even if Boren and Mallett stayed and both got drafted, both them and Schilling would have been the only people drafted on the offensive side of the ball since RR got here right, and all 3 of them would have beed drafted after year 3. Lloyd had 5 offensive guys draftted in his last year alone, one of them being the #1 pick in the draft. But you are right, he was left with a shitload of talent.
February 27th, 2011 at 4:01 PM ^
Don't leave out Arrington and Manningham...They were on the team when RR got here. RR had an NFL QB, 2 NFL WR's and NFL talent on the line.
February 27th, 2011 at 11:06 PM ^
First off, your bias is showing, as "NFL talent on the line" in actuality means 1 returning sophomore starter who will probably be drafted in the 3rd round or higher and 4 brand new starters, none of whom are anywhere near being drafted. And if you are counting fatass Boren, who knows if he will be drafted (considering my grandma can run a faster 40). Even if you count him, you are still talking about 2 underclassmen and 3 new starters who didn't amount to anything.
As for Manningham and Arrington, let's count them too. That means in the 3 years since RR took over, if we would have kept the fatass who doesn't like to work, the guy who still hasn't denied he has drug problems, another guy who failed numerous drug tests at U of M, and a 7th round draft pick at WR, he still would have only had 5 guys in 3 years. Yep, amazing talent. And that is best case scenario if Manningham and Arrington, who are rumored to have left simply to get away from Mallett, decided to not take the millions they made in the NFL. Wishful thinking, huh dahblue? But I expect nothing less.
February 28th, 2011 at 10:30 AM ^
Let's refer back to your central tenet:
if Boren and Mallett stayed and both got drafted, both them and Schilling would have been the only people drafted on the offensive side of the ball since RR got here
Now, stop wasting time typing about "rumors" and "ifs" and "probably"...You made a statement. That statement was false. Next...