Remembering Ryan Mallett

Scott Loftis

Last week’s tragic news regarding the death of former University of Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett was troubling to me on three levels.

First, I was mostly familiar with Mallett for the same reasons as most of you reading this column. He was the brightest star on some of the Razorbacks’ most successful football teams of my lifetime. (I was born exactly 12 weeks before The Big Shootout between the Hogs and the Texas Longhorns on Dec. 6, 1969, so I’ll add that caveat.)

For my money, Mallett was the most talented passing quarterback in Razorbacks history and a perfect fit for Bobby Petrino’s offense. Even though he ranks second on the UA’s career lists for passing yards and passing touchdowns, it must be noted that Mallett only played two seasons at Arkansas. His successor, Tyler Wilson, holds the school record for career passing yards. Brandon Allen, who followed Wilson as the leader of the Arkansas offense, is the school’s career record-holder for touchdown passes.

Both Allen and Wilson, however, needed more than two seasons to put up their numbers. Wilson played parts of five seasons with the Hogs and Allen four. Wilson was a two-year starter while Allen was QB1 for three years.

Mallett threw 814 passes at Arkansas and finished with 62 touchdown passes and 7,493 passing yards. Wilson had 948 passing attempts, 7,765 yards and 52 touchdown passes. Allen passed 1,016 times for 7,463 yards and 64 touchdowns.

Mallett threw a school-record 32 touchdown passes as a junior in 2010. He had 30 in 2009, tied with Allen for second in school history. Mallett also holds the school record for passing yards in a season, with 3,869 in 2010. His total of 3,624 in 2009 ranks third in school history, 14 yards behind Wilson’s 3,638 in 2011.

Boiling it all down, if Mallett had stayed for his senior season in 2011 instead of departing for the NFL he would have needed to throw for 303 yards and three touchdowns to hold the school career records in both categories. He might have done that in the first half against Missouri State in that year’s opener.

That’s a little long-winded and my intent is not to detract attention from the point that this young man is dead under tragic circumstances. But the primary reason his death is so notable in Arkansas is because of his career as a Razorback. I would argue that he was probably the most talented UA football player ever and in the discussion with Darren McFadden as the most productive. If we’re going to remember Ryan Mallett, we should remember just how special he was on a football field.

Mallett’s death struck a chord with me, too, because of what he’d been doing most recently. He was getting ready for his second season as head football coach at White Hall High School, just outside Pine Bluff. As a proud Bulldog, Class of 1987, I was keeping an eye on how Mallett was doing and had high hopes for his future success.

Instead, Mallett’s death is the second senseless tragedy the White Hall football program has had to endure in less than two months. On May 18, WHHS senior Ben Redix was shot to death in North Little Rock on the eve of his high school graduation. Redix had been a star safety for the Bulldogs and a state triple jump champion.

In a bit of sad irony, a Little Rock television station interviewed Mallett about Redix’s death. The two lived across the street from one another.

My heart goes out to both families and to the community, school and football program that are left to pick up the pieces after a pair of agonizing losses.

Mallett’s death also caught my attention because of when and where it happened. According to reports, Mallett was swimming in the Gulf of Mexico, off a beach in Okaloosa County, Florida. My wife and I had been in that vicinity just a week earlier, spending a week in nearby Miramar Beach. During the time we were there, we heard of three people drowning. One was a firefighter who saved two other individuals but lost his own life in doing so. Double red flags flew on the beaches nearly the entire time Lisa and I were in Florida, indicating that conditions were extremely hazardous and the water was closed to the public.

Authorities say a yellow flag, indicating medium hazard and moderate current conditions, was flying on the day Mallett died.

Mallett wasn’t breaking the rules. He was just trying to enjoy himself on vacation. His death was a tragic accident. May he rest in peace.

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Scott Loftis is editor and publisher of the Carroll County News. His email address is SLoftis@CarrollCoNews.com.