Ryan Mallett

American football player (1988–2023)

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Ryan Michael Mallett (June 5, 1988 – June 27, 2023) was an American professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the New England Patriots, Houston Texans, and Baltimore Ravens.

Mallett played college football for the Michigan Wolverines and Arkansas Razorbacks. While with Arkansas, he was a two-time, second-team all-conference selection in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). He was selected by the Patriots in the third round of the 2011 NFL draft. After his playing career, Mallett served as the head football coach at White Hall High School in White Hall, Arkansas.

Early life

Mallett was born in Batesville, Arkansas. His father, Jim, was a high school teacher and football coach and mother, Debbie, was a teacher. He had an older sister, Lauren. He became friends with Will Middlebrooks when they met in a football camp in the seventh grade.

Mallett graduated from Texas High School in Texarkana, and was ranked as the No. 2 quarterback and No. 4 overall player in the nation by Rivals.com. He was also the Gatorade Player of the Year in Texas in 2006. Mallett participated in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in 2007 and won the Glenn Davis Army Award as the best player on the West team. He chose to play at Michigan over numerous Power 5 offers.

High school statistics

College career

Michigan

Mallett made his first appearance at Michigan in the second game of the 2007 season against Oregon. He entered the game for the injured Chad Henne in the third quarter and completed 6 of 17 passes for 49 yards and one interception. Mallett started the next week against Notre Dame and led the Wolverines to a 38–0 victory by throwing 3 touchdown passes, going 7 of 15 (46.7%) for 90 yards. Mallett started his first Big Ten conference game against Penn State the following week. He went 16 of 29 (55.2%) with 170 yards and one interception. He also scored on a 10-yard rush in the first quarter. Henne returned to start the Wolverines' next three games. In those games, Mallett had limited playing time completing 4 of 10 for 30 yards.

Mallett's next start was against Minnesota. He threw a touchdown pass and went 11 of 20 (55.0%) with 233 yards and no interceptions. Mallett did not start, but played extensively the next week in a loss against Wisconsin. He threw 3 touchdown passes and went 11 of 36 (30.6%) with 245 yards and two interceptions. In the fourth quarter, Mallett threw a 97-yard touchdown pass to Mario Manningham, the longest pass completion in Michigan history. Mallett played very little in the next week's game against Ohio State. He threw three passes and completed one of them for eight yards. Overall, he finished the 2007 season with 892 passing yards, seven passing touchdowns, and five interceptions.

After Michigan's hiring of head coach Rich Rodriguez, Mallett announced his intent to transfer as Rodriguez's read option offense typically utilizes a dual–threat quarterback rather than a pro–style quarterback like Mallett. On January 14, 2008, he enrolled at the University of Arkansas, where he was ineligible to play during the 2008 season due to NCAA transfer policies.

Arkansas

2009

In 2009 as a redshirt sophomore, Mallett began his career as an Arkansas Razorback. Prior to the 2009 season, Mallett was named by ESPN's Bruce Feldman as one of college football's top 10 newcomers of the year, citing his arm strength as a major determining factor. In subsequent interviews, when Mallett was questioned about how far he could throw the football, he said farther than 80 yards.

On March 1, 2009, Mallett was arrested on charges of public intoxication. He pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge on April 3, 2009, and paid $155 in court costs, fines, and fees. Mallett was also punished by head coach Bobby Petrino with early wake-up calls, extra running, and early curfews.

Mallett earned the starting job in the Razorbacks' first game against Missouri State, going 17-of-22 for 309 yards and a touchdown. Two weeks later, Mallett passed for 408 yards and five touchdowns against Georgia in a losing effort. The passing yardage and touchdowns were single-game school records. Mallett threw for more than 250 yards in three of Arkansas' next five games, with nine touchdowns against three interceptions. Impressive victories over Texas A&M and Auburn were coupled with tough losses to Alabama and Ole Miss, and a loss to Florida. After a 3–4 start, Mallett led Arkansas to three consecutive victories over Eastern Michigan (14-of-16 for 248 yards and three touchdowns), South Carolina (23-of-27 for 329 yards and one rushing touchdown), and Troy (23-of-30 for 405 yards, five touchdowns and one interception). Over those three games, he completed 83.1% of his passes, and had a quarterback rating of 165.05, which was third-best in the nation. The victory over Troy pushed Arkansas' record to 6–4 and secured the Hogs' bowl eligibility, with games against Mississippi State and LSU remaining. Mallett went on to throw for 313 yards and matched his career high of five touchdown passes in a 42–21 victory over Mississippi State. The following week, he threw for 227 yards and a touchdown in a 33–30 overtime loss to LSU in Baton Rouge. The Razorbacks finished the 2009 season with an 8–5 record and won the 2010 Liberty Bowl against East Carolina, 20–17 in overtime. Mallett was named the bowl game's Offensive MVP.

Mallett currently owns sixteen school records, including most passing yards in a season (3,627), most consecutive passes without an interception, most passing yards in a game (408), most passing touchdowns in a game (5, three times), only quarterback to pass for over 400 yards in a game (two times), most pass plays of 25 or more yards in a season, and most passing touchdowns in a single season (30).

Mallett chose to forgo entering the 2010 NFL draft, and returned for his junior season at Arkansas.

2010

On February 17, 2010, the Razorbacks announced that Mallett suffered a left foot injury in a change of direction conditioning drill. He had successful surgery later that day, and a planned second surgery was announced on June 9. Mallett missed the Razorback spring game and spring drills, but he did not miss fall camp. During the off season, Mallett was named one of college football's most irreplaceable players by ESPN.com, and he appeared on College Football Live. At the SEC's 2010 Media Days conference, Mallett became the first Arkansas quarterback to be named preseason first-team All-SEC by the SEC coaches. He was listed as the frontrunner for the Davey O'Brien Award by The Sporting News and a potential Heisman Trophy candidate. He was also named a preseason All-SEC quarterback and preseason All-American quarterback by numerous organizations.

On September 4, 2010, in a 44–3 victory over Tennessee Tech, Mallett completed 21 of 24 passes (87.5%), setting an Arkansas school record for completion percentage in a game. The completion percentage also ranks second all-time in SEC football history. Mallett contributed 301 passing yards, as well, with a total of 8 receivers recording catches. In the next game against Louisiana–Monroe, he finished with 400 passing yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. In the next game, against Georgia, he had his third consecutive game with three touchdown passes in the conference victory. Arkansas played Alabama in the next game and suffered their first setback of the season as Mallett had 357 passing yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions. The Razorbacks bounced back in the next game against Texas A&M as Mallett had 310 passing yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. After a loss to Auburn and a victory over Ole Miss, Mallett had 409 passing yards and three touchdowns in a victory over Vanderbilt. After a win over South Carolina, he had 215 passing yards and five touchdowns in a win over UTEP. After closing out the season with victories over Mississippi State and LSU, the Razorbacks faced off against Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl. In his final collegiate game, Mallett had 277 passing yards, two touchdowns, and one interception as the Razorbacks fell 31–26.

Mallett finished seventh in voting for the 2010 Heisman Trophy award. On January 6, 2011, Mallett decided to forgo his senior year at Arkansas and declare for the 2011 NFL draft.

Collegiate awards

2010 Premier Player of College Football Trophy Winner
2009 and 2010 All-SEC second team
Autozone Liberty Bowl Offensive MVP
SEC Offensive Player of the Week (vs. South Carolina, Mississippi State, and Vanderbilt)