Article today about Mallets Transfer from Michigan

Submitted by mmiicchhiiggaann on

Not to beat a dead horse...but I thought this was pretty interesting because I don't know if we have ever had confirmation from Ryan about how the situation went down between him and RR. Here is a very interesting side of the story from the Mallets...

Ryan’s the one who called (Rich Rod),” Jim Mallett continued. “He said, “Can I talk about the offense?’ And then he told me, ‘Daddy, (Rodriguez) never looked me in the eye.’ He never visited with the family, he didn’t talk to us. But hey, it wasn’t a fit. Let’s move on.

http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/sports/rap_sheet/?p=12374

jblaze

May 5th, 2011 at 10:30 PM ^

At the Capital One Bowl, we were trying to smooth things out, and we talked to Coach Carr,Jim Mallett, Ryan’s dad, said. “I asked him, ‘Coach, next to my dad, you’re the classiest person I’ve ever been around. What would you do if Ryan was your son? He said, ‘If I was in that situation, with a different offense, he needs to leave.’

I guess that's more evidence Lloyd wanted RR to fail, but I don't believe Mallet's dad, because given Threet & Sheridan, RR would have to be an idiot to not want Mallet around.

mGrowOld

May 5th, 2011 at 10:33 PM ^

Given what we now know about Mallet's off the field exploits I have a hard time faulting RR for not going out of his way to keep him.  Especially since Mallet would've fit Richrod's spread offense about as well as Chad Henne or John Navarre.

zeda_p

May 5th, 2011 at 10:39 PM ^

I love that even if you're 6'6 -- in the south, you still call your Dad 'Daddy.'

Score.

 

Edit: Why was this marked trolling? I'm from the south...odd.

Section 1

May 5th, 2011 at 10:39 PM ^

Compared to this one!

At the Capital One Bowl, we were trying to smooth things out, and we talked to Coach Carr,Jim Mallett, Ryan’s dad, said. “I asked him, ‘Coach, next to my dad, you’re the classiest person I’ve ever been around. What would you do if Ryan was your son? He said, ‘If I was in that situation, with a different offense, he needs to leave.’

That’s a little bit of a wow. 

"A little bit of a wow" is right.  Jim Mallett, claiming that Lloyd Carr advised Ryan to leave Michigan because of the offensive scheme?

mGrowOld

May 5th, 2011 at 10:48 PM ^

Your surprised that Lloyd was working against RR from literally day one of his tenure?  I'm not.  When he kept silent during stretchgate even as sweatevest was vocally supporting Rich told me everything I needed to know about the relationship between those two.  This just confirms it.

yoopergoblue

May 5th, 2011 at 11:02 PM ^

Are you serious?  Have you ever considered that Lloyd Carr was looking out for the best interests of a player he recruited and built a relationship with?  Rich Rod's offense would never have worked for Mallet so it was smart that he would transfer somewhere where he could succeed.  I also think that Carr wanted to stay distanced from the football program for a few years so he wouldn't take the spotlight/focus off of Rodriguez.  

Space Coyote

May 6th, 2011 at 12:24 AM ^

And said that he didn't feel the love from Hoke, that he wasn't sure how he fit in the system and he wasn't comfortable there, then I wouldn't have had a problem have RR tell him it may be a good idea to transfer.

The difference is in the claim.  First off, I don't believe Carr straight up said "he needs to transfer" as Mallets dad is saying.  There is also a claim to some degree that Mallet didn't feel wanted by RR.  I think both are extreme compared to what probably really happened (ie Lloyd may have said that Mallet should evaluate his options and do what's best for him).  There was never a claim that Hoke didn't want Denard.  One of Hoke's priorities when he got to Michigan was to make Denard know he was wanted and they talked about that right away.  If that hadn't happened, I'm sure Denard would have asked RR for advice, and I'm sure RR would have said something very similar to what I assume Carr actually said.

justingoblue

May 6th, 2011 at 10:18 AM ^

So RR looked at the offense for 2008 and thought he would be better off with Threet/Sheridan than Mallet? That doesn't make sense to me.

That said, I agree that Lloyd probably didn't say this and said something much more in line with what you would expect from him. Maybe Mallet and RR clashed, maybe Mallet needed an excuse to leave, but I don't see how anyone would have activly pushed Mallet out the door when they had literally no other options, barring getting the most hyped recruit in history and relying on him as a true freshman.

Space Coyote

May 6th, 2011 at 4:59 PM ^

I said how Mallet felt about it.  I don't know if RR was just going all in for Pryor and decided he wasn't getting Mallet back anyway or what.  What I said was that Mallet felt like he wasn't wanted.  This is different than what happened with Denard, who was sat down with right away and told he was really wanted.

I don't think RR thought he was better with Threet than Mallet.  I do think he probably thought he was better with Pryor than with Mallet though FWIW

justingoblue

May 6th, 2011 at 5:27 PM ^

The most simple conclusion, IMO, would be that RR realized his problems on offense immediately, wanted Mallet to stay and was unsuccessful in doing so. Mallet said RR didn't set up a meeting with him right away: maybe this was a mistake, maybe RR rubbed Mallet the wrong way or vice versa, but I have to believe that a HC at this level could recognize what dire straits he was in without Mallet. Pryor was 50/50 at best, something else RR literally had to know.

JamieH

May 6th, 2011 at 3:25 AM ^

If Hoke had said "I don't want my quarterback running the ball.  QB's are for passing and handing off ONLY" well then yeah, I would have supported RRod telling DR to get out of dodge.

The difference is, Borges offensive system doesn't preclude a QB from running or making plays with his feet.  Rodriguez' system won't work with a QB who CAN'T run or make plays with his feet. 

Essentially Robinson has a chance to be successful under Hoke, IF he can continue to improve as a passer (which would in turn make him more likely to make the NFL).  Mallet had NO SHOT of ever being successful under Rodriguez and probably would have killed his shot at making the NFL, or at least harmed his draft status.

There were positives for Robinson to stay.  Unless Rodriguez was going to alter his scheme, there were NO positives for Mallet to stay. 

MichFan1997

May 6th, 2011 at 3:28 AM ^

didn't preclude a QB from passing the ball either. Shaun King passed for 3500 yards and 38 TDs to only 6 picks in 1998 with RR as the OC at Tulane in 1998. So let's not act like RR can only work with OMG RUN THE BALL type of QB's.

JamieH

May 6th, 2011 at 1:44 PM ^

That was 1998, a LONG time ago and at a time before Rodriguez had fully developed his read-option offense.  I doubt the offense he ran at Tulane looked anything like what he ran at Michigan in 2008. 

Given that Rodriguez tried to shoehorn Threet into an offense he clearly didn't fit into, I find it hard to believe he woudn't have done the same with Mallett.

JamieH

May 6th, 2011 at 1:39 PM ^

Seriously?  This kind of post is considered Flambait?  Why?  Because I said Robinson has a chance to be successful under Hoke, but Mallet didn't have a chance under Rodriguez?

Good grief some people are overly sensitive. 

JamieH

May 7th, 2011 at 2:51 PM ^

The problem is when someone (or maybe it is two people) labels your post as "flamebait" just because they are a dick, your post gets collapsed.   That is idiotic.  It just encourages dickheads to label anything they don't agree with as flamebait and get it collapsed rather than just saying "I don't agree with you". 

I have no problems with messages getting collapsed if a bunch of people are in agreement that the message is flamebait.  But the fact that a message gets collapsed because one or two weenies have a burr in their underwear is lame.

Space Coyote

May 6th, 2011 at 8:48 AM ^

And when your a coach, your players are often like your family.  You want to do what is best for them, because in the end, that is what is best for everyone.

If Lloyd just says stay at Michigan at all cost then he has no credibility.  That looks bad on him, it looks bad on the team.  It makes Michigan seem as if they don't have "family values".  The fact that RR thought Denard could succeed at Michigan and that the new coaches wanted him made RR tell Denard to stay, because it was best for him, which in turn is best for his family (team).

M-Wolverine

May 7th, 2011 at 12:41 AM ^

To stay, and not check out his draft standing, because Darius not doing it is obviously better for the team, and school, if not actually the player.
<br>
<br>I'm glad you're not the coach of our team. Because I'm guessing a lot of parents wouldn't want to send their kids to you.

kman23

May 6th, 2011 at 2:28 PM ^

I know that everyone thinks Rich Rod needs his QBs to run the ball but that doesn't need to be the case. I know our offense under RR wasn't the spread but it's not to different, just some small tweeks. Just because the QB ran at WVU doesn't mean RR couldn't adapt his offense. Look at Shaun King who could run some but not much compared to Denard or Pat White. I'm absolutely positive that RR would rather have had Mallet more than Street/Sheridan or a true freshman QB.  

If Mallet had stayed Michigan could still go 4-5 wide and run amost every single passing play. It might not have been the best fit but it could've worked and it would have helped Michigan during the transfer period. It's a shame to me that Lloyd didn't tell the kid to try spring camp before leaving. 

Can you imagine Bo ever telling Chris Perry to leave because it wasn't a good fit? 

 

Section 1

May 5th, 2011 at 11:06 PM ^

"wow." 

I'm not going to rehash the entire debate.  I would not be comfortable saying that I am surprised, or alternatively that I'm not surprised.  I wouldn't particularly want to bet my life on any quote from Papa Mallett, Mama Mallett, or Baby Huey Mallett.

But I don't ever remember that kind of quote ever appearing in print; and while it won't settle anything, it is news.

jmblue

May 6th, 2011 at 2:07 PM ^

When he kept silent during stretchgate even as sweatevest was vocally supporting Rich told me everything I needed to know about the relationship between those two.

Carr has hardly said a word publicly since Hoke's hiring. Does that tell you something about the relationship between those two?

TTUwolverine

May 5th, 2011 at 10:42 PM ^

If this is true, I like to think Lloyd did us a solid by telling him politely to GTFO.  Hell maybe that was his intent all along, I think it was widely rumored that Lloyd didn't particularly care for him. 

Salinger

May 6th, 2011 at 7:41 AM ^

My understanding was that Carr didn't care for Mallet at all.  He showed up on campus all entitled because he could throw the ball 400yds (that's in a single pass).  Mallet wouldn't have been a good fit for RR offense, there's no question about that.  However, if you think for a second that RR would rather have had Threet and Sheridan over a highly touted, gunslinging, missile-launcher-for-an-arm quarterback, then you are as crazy as Mallet is dumb.

 

This, incidentally, is not targeted in any way at you, TTUwolverine.  

JamieH

May 5th, 2011 at 11:09 PM ^

Watching Threet try to run the Rodriguez offense should have proven that.  Yes, Mallet was a better QB that Threet, but he was about the same mobility-wise.  He would have been a square peg in a round hole.