FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett will forgo his final year of eligibility and enter the NFL Draft.
Mallett, a redshirt junior, has started every game the last two seasons for the Razorbacks, finishing with an 18-8 record. This season he broke his own school single-season records for passing yards, completions, attempts and touchdowns, and averaged 297.6 passing yards per game.
Arkansas finished the season 10-3 and earned the school’s first BCS bid. The Razorbacks fell 31-26 to Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl on Tuesday.
“Playing in the NFL is a goal of mine and I am grateful to the people that have prepared me to take the next step,” Mallett said. “Coach (Bobby) Petrino is a winner, a man of character and the hardest worker I have ever seen. I’d also like to thank Coach (Garrick) McGee for everything he has done for me and in particular helping develop my mental approach to the game.
“Ever since I was a kid, my dream has always been to play for the Razorbacks and I am thankful I had the opportunity to do so. A year ago, when I returned to school I said I wanted to help lead this team to a place among the nation’s elite and for the Razorback community to have a mindset to expect greatness. There is no doubt we got there together and this program will continue to play games on the biggest stages and when it does we’ll come out swinging.”
Mallett has tied or broken 43 school or stadium passing records and his career 29.7 yards per completion is tops in Southeastern Conference history. In addition, Mallett holds every major passing record at the school, including career passing yards (7,493), career completions (491) and career passing touchdowns (62).
“I am very proud of Ryan Mallett and I can’t say enough about what he has done for this program,” Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino said in the release. “Leaders do their job extremely well and lift everyone around them to compete better and Ryan does those things. One of the greatest parts about coaching is watching individuals become adults while they are in college and Ryan has certainly developed not just as a player, but as a person. I know Ryan will be successful in life and I wish him the best in the NFL.”
NFL Draft experts expect Mallett to be one of the top quarterbacks taken in this spring’s draft. Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, a consensus pick as the top eligible quarterback in the draft, announced earlier Thursday he would return for the 2011 season.