Ryan Mallett Speaks... Positively About Michigan
A frequent recipient of MGoBlogerati disdain, Ryan Mallett just may have undergone a fairly significant maturation since his matriculation at Arkansas. Check out this article in which he credits Michigan and in particular Lloyd Carr and Chad Henne as major factors in his current success.
Mallett, who has two seasons of college eligibility remaining, said his leadership skills have been shaped by Michigan and Arkansas. "When I first went to Michigan I was young," said Mallett, 22, who missed the Razorbacks' spring practices because of the foot injury. "I had a great guy in front of me in Chad Henne. He was a very good leader and I watched him and I learned from him.
"I was still young when I came here (to Arkansas). Going under the tutelage of coach Carr and (Arkansas) coach (Bobby) Petrino -- they really helped me understand what I need to do. I've always felt I've been a leader, but I've just matured with the direction of those coaches."
Mallett...said he signed to play for Michigan because he "had fallen in love with the campus and the coaches."
Perhaps with age and experience Mallett has undergone his own transformation to complement his transfer. Meanwhile, with the Heisman campaign underway, Mallett is surely receiving some significant public relations coaching from Arkansas. Of course, both can be true, can't they?
It's not a new style of football. It's been around in college for 20 years. If the "new style" is the zone read option, then don't hold your breath. Just about every NFL team has a defensive end/outside linebacker who's just as fast as those read option QBs, and oh by the way, will body slam your $15 million quarterback when he gets ahold of him. The "Wildcat" or zone read option might work in spurts, but pro-style QBs and offenses are here to stay.
Michigan was left with some talent, but, in honor of the British Open, the Birthplace of Golf,and their adage about wind and rain, I see 2008 and post-injury 2009 this way:
Nae Quarterback, nae victories.
...for using maturation and matriculation in the same sentence.
But seriously, always nice to get some positive press...even if it's regarding the last administration.
Glad to see that he has matured. Also glad to see an article where a player who left during the transition speaks positively of M.
But, I am not jumping back on the Mallett fan bus.
The maturation process may be accelerated through some help of perhaps an agent whispering in his ear in preperation for the next NFL draft but in the least he is willing to accept the guidance.
That's the point of college, right? Get an education and mature.
Hopefully he's done both.
This isn't really Mallett related, but I'll be curious to see what happens with John Wienke, the qb from a small school who signed with Michigan but then switched to Iowa when Lloyd retired. He was another one of those prototypical pro-type quarterbacks, but obviously without the hype and raw talent of Mallett.
Whoops! A quick check on the Hawkeye official website says about Wienke that as of 2010 he's "Not listed on depth chart following spring practice." It seems sort of mean to phrase it so bluntly on the official team site.
Yeah - that's weird. I thought he played in their spring game and did pretty good. Maybe he got in trouble grades or team rules wise -- i.e., in a non-public way.
How does he get two more seasons? Wouldn't he have sacrificed a season due to his transfer?
I never had any doubt he'd be a great quarterback. I'm glad he seems to be maturing. That was the thing most of us probably thought he was missing most.
And they don't lose any eligibility?
...correct, sir!
They burn their redshirt if it hasn't been used. If the redshirt has been used, then the player loses a year of eligibility.
...clarification. Of course, Mallett is the former case (as oultined by Magnus). But you knew that.
for the correction. That means the transfer rules heap even more punishment on players than I thought they did. Pretty harsh, in my opinion.
Someone's been playing NCAA 11
2007: Freshman
2008: Redshirted (i.e. Redshirt freshman)
2009: Redshirt sophomore
2010: Redshirt junior
2011: Redshirt senior (if he stays)
Once again, I have learned something from MGoBlog. Happens every day, it seems. In that regard, this site is more useful than cable news.
In the same way that a DeWalt compound power miter saw is more useful than a pile of fly-encrusted dog shit.
But you can't have this much fun with a compound power miter saw...
She told him not to put it out with his boot.
I still don't like Mallett. There were too many run-ins with teammates and coaches, too many stories I heard about other things. I do hope that he's matured, but I won't be rooting for him anytime soon.
but my buddy swears up and down about how Mallet never did anything except whine and complain about not get enough playing time and be completely immature. All I see is a prototypical pro-style QB, and I can't blame him for leaving, but I too have only heard bad things about his stay at Michigan.
I don't really think that the lack of playing time was the problem. I mean, even the dumbest of the dumb would be able to understand that Chad Henne was a 3-year starter at the beginning of the season and gave Michigan the best chance to win.
I think the other issues were bigger factors.
All you have to do is go back and watch the game film of Carr yelling at him on the sideline, and him yelling back. You learn pretty quick in high school that the coach is always right. I've seen people knocked on their ass after talking back to the coach, and I'm sure Carr wanted to in this instince.
that Carr threw Mallet his transfer papers during that 2007 season. It may have just been a motivational tactic, but if it's true (which I don't know if it is), it's an indication that things weren't exactly peachy between him and the rest of the team/coaches.
We all saw Manningham getting pissed and yelling at him on the sidelines during that '07 Wisconsin game, so it's not hard to imagine a bad overall situation there...
Eh, number 1 or number 2 QB recruit in the country comes in with a big head on his shoulders, and needs a year or two to get "adjusted". You want these guys cocky and confident, but that comes with the price tag of having to humble them into team players. (It's not like he was a T.O. or something.)
I wouldn't be surprised if Lloyd did sit him down and straighten him out, and that probably is exactly some of the learning Ryan is now referring to.
Whether this is earnest, or is a PR campaign for Heisman, the acknowledgment in the press is nice.
What an interesting QB recruiting class. I believe Mallett, Clausen and Will Korn were the top three that year.
Mallett is obviously still playing and hoping to become elite at the school he has transferred to.
Clausen left a year early, perhaps wisely, perhaps unwisely, and will hope to become the Panthers QB by the end of the year.
Will Korn couldn't crack Clemson's starting lineup and has transferred to Marshall.
him at skeeps on a thursday night wasted and smoking a weekend before he started during FB season. No wonder the guy couldnt run ...
Ryan Mallett was perfectly positioned to take shot after shot at RR after he left; it wouldn't have affected his playing status at Arkansas in the least, and there would have been plenty of receptive ears in Fayetteville and across the country if he had done so. Instead, every time Ryan was asked about RR, he had nothing bad to say about him.
There's plenty of evidence that Mallett was a bit of a dick while he was here, but this just in: 19-yr old kids do have a tendency to be immature. That's why it's called "maturation." It happens every day.
and what have you done with ryan mallett?
Talented but cocky freshman acts like a dick, then though the time of becoming an upperclassman, matures and becomes a better overall person. Wow, that never happens, does it? At Michigan, or anywhere else...
People are so quick to paint with broad brushes...then get on the jock of some guy they loved...as a senior...but was a troublemaker as an underclassman. (If I had a dime for every player Lloyd, Bo, etc. threw transfer papers at that later became All-Big Ten and loved by his coach....).
I credit Lloyd and Chad as major factors in my college campaign as well.