FAYETTEVILLE — Former Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett said he got an “eerie feeling” when New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick called Friday night to tell him the Patriots were about to draft him.
Mallett already knew how many quarterbacks had been taken ahead of him in the draft, and as a fan of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, he had already watched the ESPN documentary titled “Brady 6” regarding Brady’s selection as the seventh quarterback in the 2000 draft.
When Mallett was asked how he felt when other quarterbacks were selected ahead of him who were not as productive, he replied, “Wasn’t it six, right? Y’all have seen the documentary, right?”
When asked which documentary, he mentioned “Brady 6” and said, “That’s all it is is motivation.
“I don’t know, it’s an eerie feeling right now. A cold chill ran down my spine when the Patriots said they wanted me.”
Brady was drafted behind Chad Pennington, Giovanni Carmazzi, Chris Redman, Tee Martin, Marc Bulger and Spergon Wynn in the 2000 draft. Mallett was selected after Cam Newton, Jake Locker, Blaine Gabbert, Christian Ponder, Andy Dalton and Colin Kaepernick in the 2011 draft.
“Tom Brady is one of his idols and their stories are kind of parallel right now,” said Debbie Mallett, the quarterback’s mother. “Six went before Tom; six went before Ryan. That’s OK.
“His goal is to go prove all these people wrong and the Patriots are right for choosing him. That’s what Tom did. He proved the Patriots right for choosing him. I think he’ll use Tom as inspiration.”
Brady played at Michigan and replaced a topflight quarterback in Drew Bledsoe in New England. Mallett played at Michigan (before becoming a record breaking quarterback at Arkansas) and aims to replace the three-time Super Bowl champion and future Hall of Famer with the Patriots.
Mallett undoubtedly will have bigger shoes to fill than Brady did, if he ever gets the chance.
MEET THE PRESS
Ryan Mallett had his first session with Patriots media on a teleconference Friday evening, and the off-thefield issues that hounded him, and probably cost Mallett a significant amount of money, were brought up.
Asked about the scrutiny and the drug-use allegations, Mallett replied, “It’s just people talking. I’m focusing on getting up to New England and learning as much as I can and getting on the field as quick as I can. It’s just something that’s behind me.”
Pressed later on the conference call about drug use, Mallett was asked, “Are you saying you’ve never used before? Or maybe you have and that’s in the past and you’re not going down that road again?”
Said Mallett, “All I’m saying is that it’s in the past and I’m looking in the future. I don’t think that stuff ’s a problem. There has been a lot of stuff said that is definitely false. But I’m looking to the future and looking forward to being a Patriot.” MALLETT’S WAY
NFL analyst Pat Kirwan, writing for NFL.com, called Ryan Mallett’s selection by the Patriots the best fit among the seven rookie quarterbacks taken in the early rounds.
Wrote Kirwan: “He might be the luckiest guy in this draft. He’s a pocket passer with a big arm and Tom Brady-like skills. The Patriots either landed a long term starter for 10 seasons after Brady, or they’ll trade him for a higher pick than he originally cost. He absolutely fits which Belichick wants in a quarterback for his offense. What they do with Brady, they can do with Mallett.” FROZEN THREE
All three Arkansas players taken in the 2011 NFL Draft wound up in cold-weather environments: Ryan Mallett to the New England Patriots, D.J. Williams to the Green Bay Packers and DeMarcus Love to the Minnesota Vikings.
Add former Hogs Peyton Hillis (Cleveland Browns) and George Wilson (Buffalo Bills) to the mix, and the Razorbacks have the NFL’s most ex treme climates mostly covered.
D.J. LOW KEY
D.J. Williams, Arkansas’ award-winning former tight end, had a smaller draft party compared to the 70-plus friends and family with Ryan Mallett.
Asked on a Saturday teleconference about his upbringing and his family and where he was when he got the call from the Green Bay Packers, Williams said, “We’ve come a long way as a family, pretty much coming from nothing to where we are now. Hearing my named called today and getting a phone call from the Green Bay Packers was an awesome moment, and I was with my family today.
“There was no media, no other outside friends, just me and my family and when we finally saw my name on the screen, it all kind of popped into reality. I felt thankful for it.” “GOLDEN” ARCHES
D.J. Williams put the NFL lockout in perspective, from his point of view, during a conference call shortly after he was drafted by the Packers on Saturday.
Asked if he would now take his family out to dinner, Williams replied, “Maybe go out to McDonald’s, since there’s a lockout and I’m unemployed and have no money.”
Williams, always armed with humor, added he would probably upgrade when the lockout ends.
MR. VERSATILE
DeMarcus Love, on a conference call with Vikings’ media, was asked about his strengths as a player.
“The strength is versatility,” Love said. “You can slot me in at guard or tackle, either side, it wouldn’t matter.”
Sports, Pages 17 on 05/02/2011