FAYETTEVILLE — One might expect injured Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett to be down a bit as he watches his teammates go through spring football practice.
But Mallett, recovering from a fractured left foot suffered during winter conditioning, is keeping his spirits up and his head in the game, much to the approval of Coach Bobby Petrino.
“I think Ryan’s done an excellent job all spring,” Petrino said last week.
“He’s coming out trying to motivate us and be a good role model and a good team player,” junior receiver Greg Childs said.
Instead of brooding about his injury, Mallett has remained involved in the offense, serving as a mentor for younger quarterbacks Tyler Wilson, Brandon Mitchell, Nick Petrino and Jacoby Walker.
“I want to be part of this team just like everybody else, because we’re real close,” Mallett said. “It’s a little different this spring because I can’t take snaps, so I’m not worried about what I’ve got to do, and I’m watching what they’ve got to do and trying to help them if they have a question, or if I see something, I mention, ‘You might want to alert this or check this,’ and just give them little tips.”
The proof of Mallett’s production to Petrino has been when he listens to the dialogue between plays.
“I’m impressed when I turn around and they’re talking about the previous play,” Petrino said. “They’re talking about what the look was, what the blitz was, if the quarterback didn’t make the right call at the line of scrimmage.
“They are already discussing it. I think Ryan mentally has gotten a lot out of spring ball.”
Mallett, who has been mentioned as a Heisman Trophy candidate, began throwing footballs during skeleton drills last week, bringing back the familiar thud his strong throws make when connecting with the hands and shoulder pads of receivers.
“We see him doing his thing, and that gets us fired up and ready to go,” said Childs, who caught seven of Mallett’s30 touchdown passes last season.
“Ryan is the team leader. He’s our quarterback. He could easily be in the training room and not doing anything, but he chooses to come out on the field and show the whole team that he’s still with us.” Mallett was even allowed to remove his protective boot to make warm-up throws with the other quarterbacks late last week.
He is scheduled to see team doctors again this week to assess whether the boot can come off for good. Meanwhile, he’s trying to stay patient in anticipation of getting full clearance for the late spring and summer.
“I haven’t really asked, because I’d be looking forward to it too much,” Mallett said. “So I just go day by day and let them tell me what to do. ... I’ve got to keep grinding and getting treatment every day until they give me the green light to go full go.”
Mallett took on the role of peacemaker earlier in the spring when he rushed in to pull defensive end Colton Nash away from an imminent scuffle with offensive lineman Anthony Oden.
Now it appears Mallett not only acts like an elder statesman, he talks like one for a team that has big designs in 2010.
He assessed last Friday’s scrimmage from the eyes of a veteran and an encourager.
“I thought they had a pretty good day,” Mallett said. “Tyler threw one down the sideline right after he got his butt chewed. That’s what you’ve got to do. ... You’ve got to be able to bounce back the next play and just keep on going.”
Mallett said Walker, a true freshman, is making progress.
“He gets it,” Mallett said. “That’s what he’s really got going for him. He gets the game, and he’s only going to get better.”
Mallett said the waiting period has helped him see the big picture better.
“I’ve been able to see a lot of things from the defensive side that you might not be able to pick up when you’re in there live,” he said. “And then I can sit back and watch and see what’s going on and see my checks, or what I would do in certain situations, and I feel like mentally I’ve gotten a lot better.”
Sports, Pages 13 on 04/19/2010