FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett was knocked out of spring drills Wednesday after suffering a foot injury during conditioning work.
A release from the University of Arkansas confirmed the injury is a broken bone in Mallett’s left foot, which is expected to keep the 6-7 junior out of action three to four months.
“It is unfortunate since Ryan works extremely hard and has made a commitment to the Razorbacks,” Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino said. “I am confident in our athletic trainers and medical staff and believe they are the best in the country.
“Ryan is a strong competitor who I know will put all his effort into overcoming his injury and continuing to lead this team.”
Mallett suffered an offseason injury for the second consecutive year. The Texarkana, Texas, product broke the ring finger on his throwing hand last June 1, causing him to miss individual workouts for part of the summer. The Michigan transfer also broke the thumb on his throwing hand midway through spring drills while he was redshirting in 2008.
Mallett announced he was returning to Arkansas for his junior season last month after breaking several school records in his first season as a Razorback.
Among the 16 school records Mallett set or tied as a sophomore were 3,624 passing yards in a season, 30 touchdown passes in a season and 408 passing yards in a game.
Mallett was seventh nationally with a pass efficiency rating of 152.46 and 17th with 276.5 total yards per game.
A second-team All-SEC selection by the league coaches and media, Mallett was one of 10 finalists for the Manning Award. He is expected to garner attention in the Heisman Trophy and Davey O’Brien Award races in the fall.
Mallett’s injury will give sophomore Tyler Wilson, freshman Brandon Mitchell and signee Jacoby Walker, who enrolled in January, a chance to earn valuable practice time in the spring.
Sports, Pages 17 on 02/18/2010