FAYETTEVILLE — Trainer praises Mallett
Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett drew comparisons to San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers during his training at Athletes Performance in Frisco, Texas, prior to the NFL Scouting Combine.
“This is my 15th draft class ... and I’ve worked with my fair share of good quarterbacks,” said Scott Pucek, the performance manager at the AP complex outside Dallas. “Philip Rivers is the guy I would compare Ryan to the most, mostly in terms of physical stature and athleticism.
“Phillip was a lot better athlete than most people gave him credit for and Ryan’s in that same category.”
Pucek said he focused his training for Mallett on the attributes for which the 6-6, 250-pound Mallett gets poor grades.
“We knew he could sling the rock around the field,” Pucek said. “We just tried to focus on specific things: His footwork and mobility.”
Pucek said he concentrated on strengthening Mallett’s core stability and mobility and loosening his hips to provide a quicker burst when he has to move in the pocket.
“Now he’s better able to move efficiently and use the force that he’s generating,” Pucek said. “He’s been generating it all along, but now he’s not losing it.”
Mallett received high marks from Pucek from a leadership standpoint.
“We had about 15 guys and he was definitely our highest-profile guy,” Pucek said. “He didn’t ask or want to be treated any differently.
He just rolled up his sleeves every day and demonstrated that work ethic I ask of all my athletes.”
Mallett worked out in Frisco for about six weeks.
He is expected to remain around Fayetteville for the Razorbacks’ pro day on Tuesday and for individual workouts for NFL teams in the coming weeks.
Combine wrap
Two Arkansas players made the post-combine analysis of Russ Lande of The Sporting News, and not in a positive way.
Lande judged offensive lineman DeMarcus Love and quarterback Ryan Mallett as two of his “losers” from the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis late last month.
Of Love, Lande wrote, “He had a bad senior season and struggled at the Senior Bowl and again at the Combine, performing well below his potential.” Lande, who called Love the most NFL-ready offensive lineman in college football last August, now projects Love as a late-round draft choice.
Lande also panned Mallett’s showing in Indianapolis, writing that he didn’t “wow” anyone with his throwing. “And he bombed his media session and team interviews, coming off as someone who can’t handle adversity or a leadership role. He created more questions at the Combine rather than answer them.” Petrino’s strategy
Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino was one of three SEC coaches to be featured in a Wall Street Journal examination last week on the issue of oversigning in college football.
Petrino expounded on his philosophy at Arkansas, which, the Journal summed up: “He signs 19 players he knows are ‘academically gonna make it without being a load on our academic support staff,’ six guys who may or may not qualify, and three to four players who have ‘absolutely no chance’ of qualifying.
The latter group, Petrino explained, was signed so “they feel a commitment to us” for when they finish junior college.
Petrino’s methods have not faced the criticism as those of Ole Miss Coach Houston Nutt, whose 37-member class of 2009 prompted an SEC rule in 2010 limiting signing classes to 28 national letters of intent between signing day and May 1. The NCAA, which allows a maximum of 25 new scholarship players per year, adopted the 28-man signing class rule this season.
South Carolina Coach Steve Spurrier, who landed a highly touted signing class last month, was criticized for pulling the scholarship offers on two players.
D.J. & ESPN
D.J. Williams tweeted this week that he was working with an ESPN crew, apparently for a piece that will be part of the network’s NFL Draft coverage next month.
Williams’ life story of surviving domestic abuse was one of the centerpieces of ESPN’s coverage of the Home Depot College Awards Show and was a criteria in his selection as the winner of the Disney Spirit Award as college football’s most inspirational player.
Williams also won the Mackey Award as the nation’s top tight end and is one of five finalists for the AAU Sullivan Award, which is given to the country’s top amateur athlete.
Hog calendar
Former Razorbacks will compete in the team’s annual pro day on Tuesday inside the Walker Pavilion.
The workout is closed to the public.
The start of spring drills is March 15 and the Red-White spring scrimmage will take place on April 16.
Sports, Pages 31 on 03/06/2011