Mallett’s move resonates

FAYETTEVILLE — On a freezing day in Arkansas, Ryan Mallett fired up the hopes of Razorbacks football fans everywhere.

Mallett, Arkansas’ record-setting quarterback,announced Friday he will return to Arkansas for his junior season in order to help build a championship tradition, one that he said is well under way.

“You know we’ve got a great team coming back this year, no doubt, so we’re very excited for that,” said Mallett, who has been contemplating an early departure to the NFL.

Mallett, speaking inside Reynolds Razorback Stadium, said he had pretty much decided to return to school within a couple of hours of Arkansas’ 20-17 victory over East Carolina in the Liberty Bowl last Saturday. But he took a couple of days to fly to a “secret” out-of-state location to “clear his head” for a few days after the game to make his final decision.

“You know, it really wasn’t much on me leaving,” Mallett said. “After the win and talking to Coach Petrino and Coach McGee and my parents and myself, I decided it was the best for me to come back. ... I’m back in Fayetteville and it’s snowing and I love it.”

Mallett said he tried to call Coach Bobby Petrino to tell him of his decision, but had toleave a message. Petrino and Arkansas offensive coordinator Garrick McGee had a brief spell of concern after hearing of a false report that said Mallett was declaring for the draft, and McGee called his quarterback.

“So I called him in the secret hiding place that he was at and he said, ‘I’m coming back. You know I’m coming back,’ ” McGee said.

Petrino stood in the back of the Raymond Miller Room in the Broyles Athletic Center with McGee and Arkansas administrators during Mallett’s announcement, but he did not meet with reporters.

McGee said Mallett’s’ decision showed maturity and the ability to handle media pressure and the hype he’ll surely generate going into the 2010 season.

“I think the main message that he sent was he came back to help his teammates win,” McGee said. “The decision for him to take off right now and take the money while it was there would have been an immature decision.”

Jim Mallett said he and his wife, Debbie, were pleased their son is coming back for another year to learn under Petrino and McGee.

“We knew Ryan would make the right decision, and he did,” Jim Mallett said. “We’re real excited. I guarantee you the whole Mallett clan is excited.”

Mallett filed the paperwork necessary for him to hear back from the NFL’s college advisory committee on his draft status.

“They sent me stuff I need to work on,” Mallett said. “I’m not going into much detail on any of that stuff, but it’s just things that we have been saying all year we have got to work on.”

Mallett, 6-7, 240 pounds, said the next step in the process for his junior year will be to work toward acquiring an insurance policy to cover himself for future earnings in case of a serious injury next season.

Mallett, who set or broke 16 Arkansas records in his first season with the Razorbacks, said the season-ending shoulder injury suffered by Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford and the injury that knocked Texas’ Colt McCoy out of Thursday’s BCS National Championship Game were not factors in his decision.

“Not at all,” Mallett said.“Colt got hurt last night. That didn’t have any deciding factor, because to me ... if you play hard, you eliminate much of the risk to get hurt. So when I go play for the Razorbacks this fall, I’m going to give it everything I’ve got.”

Mallett’s goals for next season include leading Arkansas to a better finish and completing a higher percentage of his passes. College insiders believe Mallett must check down and complete higher-percentage passes to tight end D.J. Williams and his backs more often, instead of trying for the long ball as he did much of the 2009 season.

Mallett finished 225 of 403 for 3,624 yards with 30 touchdowns and 7 interceptions last season. He set Arkansas records for single-season passing yards, touchdown passes and single-game records for touchdown passes (5 twice) and 408 passing yards in a game.

Mallett finished seventh nationally with a pass efficiency rating of 152.46 and 17th with 276.5 total yards per game. His pass efficiency rating was the third-highest in SEC history, and his passing yardage ranked eighth on the SEC’s single-season chart.