By Harry King
FAYETTEVILLE — Side by side at the 30, quarterbacks Ryan Mallett and Tyler Wilson began to retreat on the same sound. They both planted a step the other side of the 35 and cut loose to teammates in white at the 20.
Mallett’s pass arrived a tick sooner. A burgeoning legend since Mallett transferred from Michigan, his arm strength was obvious Saturday evening to those of us who had only heard rumors and had not seen.
During the Red-White game that concluded Arkansas’ second spring of football under Bobby Petrino, the velocity was there on the quick one to Jarius Wright on the sideline and on the line drive that Joe Adams failed to catch over the middle.
Moments later, his 32-yard completion to Adams was merely a flick and, near the end of the first half, a 20-yarder to Wright evoked gasps. He ended that drive in style, taking something off a 14-yarder to an open Adams.
Mallett is listed at 6-foot-7 and he looks every inch of it, peering down at his teammates in the huddle and over a defensive lineman on his second completion of the night. Coaches will scour the film for the good and bad, but Mallett was certain to receive most of the fans’ attention.
He was not perfect.
On the Red team’s second possession, there was nothing available when Mallett first looked. Retreating and counting on his fastball, Mallett had little on a pass that Tramain Thomas intercepted. Later, rolling right, he never saw Dennis Johnson unattended on the other side of the field. On the next play, he tried for Johnson alone in the right flat. The pass was incomplete — blame shared equally by pitcher and catcher.
Inside the White team’s 20, Mallett didn’t see an open D.J. Williams and misfired. Mallett’s second interception occurred when Williams couldn’t hang on to one that was a bit off-target.
Petrino never named a No. 1 during spring practice, but Mallett received far more snaps with the first unit than sophomore Tyler Wilson. On Saturday, Mallett worked exclusively with the Red team. Wilson changed jerseys for his initial opportunity with the first team, a possession that began on his own 5. He hooked up with London Crawford on a drag route for 29 yards, was a yard too wide for Jarius Wright crossing deep, and then did his thing — a sidestep followed by a completion from an awkward delivery.
In the first half, Mallett was 13-of-22 for 190 yards and Wilson was 6-of-14 for 97 yards. Don’t sweat the numbers just yet. For the first time in years, Arkansas has two young men who appear capable of playing quarterback in the Southeastern Conference.
Leaving Little Rock, the windshield wipers doing double time for the first 50 miles, there was a question about whether conditions would hamper the passing game. The rain held off but the threat held down the crowd.
When it was over, I thought about the similarities between Mallett and an event held at a central Arkansas golf course in the day when tee shots were launched by wooden drivers.
Mike Dunaway, who lived in Conway at the time and one of the first to organize those with prodigious tee shots, brought a band of bombers to town for an exhibition and a scramble. Our pro’s name is long forgotten, but his first couple of tee shots were mesmerizing, much like Mallett’s lasers.
After a few holes, the power thing grew stale and our leader did not possess the accuracy, finesse, and decision-making necessary to compete on the PGA Tour. There is more to being a great college quarterback than throwing blurs. Mallett’s arm is a splendid place to start. He has time to learn the rest.
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Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media’s Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com.
