NEW ORLEANS — Ryan Mallett told Arkansas fans to “get ready” after announcing last spring he was returning for his redshirt junior season instead of entering the NFL Draft.
Then Mallett delivered on that promise of a special season, at times making it look easy as he piled up passing yards and touchdowns with his powerful right arm tolead Arkansas to a 10-2 record and a spot in the Sugar Bowl against Ohio State on Tuesday night.
“Man, Ryan was everything we needed,” offensive tackle DeMarcus Love said. “If he would have been any better, we would probably have a perfect season.
“As good as he was, that’s about as good as you can hope for. You can’t just find a guy like that, who can play quarterback, do all the things he can with his arm ... how he makes defensive coordinators lose sleep at night.”
A sampling of Mallett’s numbers in two seasons as Arkansas’ starting quarterback since transferring from Michigan fill two pages of the team’s Sugar Bowl media guide:
300 or more passing yards in 14 of 25 games and four games with 400 yards;
60 touchdown passes covering an average of 30 yards;
5 touchdown passes in four games;
7,216 passing yards;
Breaking or sharing 38 school and stadium records.
But numbers aside, how valuable is Mallett to Arkansas?
“Ryan is an invaluable asset to our team,” defensive end Jake Bequette said. “Not just from the aspect of playing quarterback, but for his leadership in the locker room and on the field.
“He really takes control.”
Mallett’s presence helps the Razorbacks play to their potential, according to teammates and coaches.
“He makes us all better,” offensive line coach Chris Klenakis said. “What’s neat is guys work harder and block harder. When you know you’ve got a special player there behind you that can make things happen for you, it takes everybody’s game to another level.”
Mallett said he’s taken his game to a higher level this season, too, as he’s continued to mature.
“I think that’s what you’ve got to do as a quarterback is get better each game, each week,” Mallett said. “I think I’ve done an OK job at that.”
Maybe a little better than just OK.
“He hasn’t done everything perfect or right, but who in the world has?” wide receiver Jarius Wright said. “As far as the team goes, I don’t think you can ask anything more of your quarterback.”
Mallett threw three interceptions in Arkansas’ 24-20 loss to then-No. 1 Alabama in a game that effectively knocked him out of the Heisman Trophy race. He then sustained a concussion in the first half of Arkansas’ 65-43 loss at No. 1 Auburn after being hit by defensive tackle Nick Fairley.
But Mallett and the Razorbacks came back from a 1-2 SEC start to close the regular season with a six game winning streak. Mallett finished seventh in the Heisman Trophy balloting as he completed 242 of 364 passes (66.5 percent) for 3,594 yards and 30 touchdowns. He also has rushed for four touchdowns.
“People question his mobility a lot. That’s what gets to me,” offensive tackle Ray Dominguez said. “He’s not going to be Mike Vick, but he has great pocket presence, and the way he can read when defenders are coming is just amazing. He’s really elusive in the pocket.”
Mallett also has become pretty good at reading defenses.
“I think the one thing that Ryan does a really good job of is getting us into the right plays,” running backs coach Tim Horton said. “There are a lot of times where there’s a particular blitz that could give us some problems, and Ryan is able to get us out of those and get us into some good plays that are chunk plays.”
Coach Bobby Petrino said Mallett “understands the game really, really well” on both offense and defense.
“As this year has went on, he thinks more and more like we do as a coaching staff, and adjustments become very easy during the game,” Petrino said.
Offensive coordinator Garrick McGee said preseason goals for the quarterbacks stressed playing better on the road and with the game on the line, and Mallett came through in victories at Georgia, South Carolina and Mississippi State.
“I think he passed that test,” McGee said. “We wanted to win a bunch of games. We talked about getting ourselves in the BCS championship game, which obviously didn’t happen. But I think this is probably the next-best game we could be playing in.
“I would say it’s been a successful season for Ryan, no doubt.”
ESPN analyst Todd Blackledge, a former Penn State and NFL quarterback who will work the Sugar Bowl telecast, said he’s impressed by many aspects of Mallett’s game, including his ability to make accurate passes on the move or if he’s knocked off balance.
“That’s pretty uncommon, but I think the best thing about him this year is he has played within himself better,” Blackledge said. “He’s played within his emotions better. He hasn’t tried to force the issue as much.
“It’s kind of a cliche when you say a guy takes what the defense gives him, but he’s done a better job at picking and choosing his spots to go for big plays. Sometimes guys with great arms think they can make a big throw every time, and I think early in his career he was a little bit more inclined to do that. But over the last part of this season, he’s really played with a lot of poise and maturity.”
Mallett said he has no regrets about putting off the start of his NFL career to return to Arkansas this season.
“It’s the best decision I’ve made,” he said.
Mallett is projected by most analysts as a high NFL Draft pick in this year and figures to make the Sugar Bowl his Arkansas finale, though he’s not ready to discuss that publicly.
“Maybe after the game,” Mallett said. “Right now I’m focused on Ohio State and trying to get a win in the Sugar Bowl.”
Sports, Pages 23 on 01/02/2011