Ryan Mallett

Ryan Mallett (born June 5, 1988), nicknamed "Big Tex," is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL), taken in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks. Mallett spent his freshman year at the University of Michigan, but transferred when head coach Lloyd Carr retired.

High school career
Mallett graduated from Texas High School in Texarkana, Texas, and was ranked as the #2 quarterback and #4 overall player in the nation by Rivals.com. He was also the Gatorade Player of the Year in Texas in 2006. Mallett participated in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in 2007 and won the Glenn Davis Army Award as the best player on the West team.

High school statistics
Source:

2007
Mallett made his first appearance at Michigan in the second game of the 2007 season against Oregon. He entered the game for the injured Chad Henne in the third quarter and completed 6 of 17 passes for 49 yards and one interception. Mallett started the next week against Notre Dame and led the Wolverines to a 38-0 victory by throwing 3 touchdown passes, going 7/15 (46.7%) for 90 yards. Mallett started his first Big Ten conference game against Penn State the following week. He went 16/29 (55.2%) with 170 yards and one interception. He also scored on a 10-yard rush in the first quarter. Henne returned to start the Wolverines' next three games. In those games, Mallett had limited playing time completing 4/10 for 30 yards.

Mallett's next start was against Minnesota. He threw a touchdown pass and went 11/20 (55.0%) with 233 yards and no interceptions. Mallett did not start, but played extensively the next week in a loss against Wisconsin. He threw 3 touchdown passes and went 11/36 (30.6%) with 245 yards and two interceptions. In the fourth quarter, Mallett threw a 97 yard touchdown pass to Mario Manningham, the longest pass completion in Michigan history. Mallett played very little in the next week's game against Ohio State. He threw three passes and completed one of them for eight yards.

Departure from Michigan
Mallett's departure from Michigan was widely expected after new head coach Rich Rodriguez was hired to replace retiring coach Lloyd Carr. Rodriguez overhauled Michigan's offense and installed a "spread" option offensive scheme, which did not fit Mallett's skills as a drop-back, pocket quarterback.

On January 14, 2008, Mallett made his move back to his home state official and enrolled at the University of Arkansas, where he was ineligible to play during the 2008 season due to NCAA transfer policies.

2009
In 2009 as a redshirt sophomore, Mallett began his career as an Arkansas Razorback, under the direction of head coach Bobby Petrino. Prior to the 2009 season, Mallett was named by ESPN's Bruce Feldman as one of college football's top 10 newcomers of the year, citing his arm strength as a major determining factor. In subsequent interviews, when Mallett was questioned about how far he could throw the football, he said farther than 80 yards.

On March 1, 2009, he was arrested on charges of public intoxication. He pled guilty to the misdemeanor charge on April 3, 2009 and paid $155 in court costs, fines, and fees. Mallett was also punished by Coach Petrino with early wake up calls, extra running, and early curfews.

Mallett earned the starting job in the Razorbacks' first game against Missouri State, going 17-of-22 for 309 yards and a touchdown. Two weeks later, Mallett passed for 408 yards and five touchdowns against Georgia in a losing effort. The passing yardage and touchdowns were single game school records. Ryan would throw for more than 250 yards in three of Arkansas' next five games, with nine touchdowns against three interceptions. Impressive victories over Texas A&M and Auburn were coupled with tough losses to Alabama and Ole Miss, and a loss vs. Florida. After a dismal 3-4 start, Mallett led Arkansas to three consecutive victories over Eastern Michigan (14-of-16 for 248 yards and three touchdowns), South Carolina (23-of-27 for 329 yards and one rushing touchdown), and Troy (23-of-30 for 405 yards, five touchdowns and one interception). Over those three games, he completed 83.1% of his passes, and had a quarterback rating of 165.05, which was third-best in the nation. The victory over Troy pushed Arkansas' record to 6-4 and secured the Hogs' bowl eligibility, with games against Mississippi State and LSU remaining. Mallett went on to throw for 313 yards and matched his career high of five touchdown passes in a 42-21 victory over Mississippi State. The following week, he threw for 227 yards and a touchdown in a 33-30 overtime loss to LSU in Baton Rouge. Ryan was named to the All-SEC 2nd Team squad by the coaches and the AP for his performance during the season, behind Florida QB Tim Tebow despite superior passing statistics. The Razorbacks finished the 2009 season with an 8-5 record and won the 2010 Liberty Bowl against East Carolina University, 20-17 in OT. Mallett was named the bowl game's Offensive MVP.

Mallett currently owns sixteen school records, including most passing yards in a season (3,627), most consecutive passes without an INT, most passing yards in a game (408), most passing touchdowns in a game (5 - three times), only quarterback to pass for over 400 yards in a game (two times), most pass plays of 25 or more yards in a season, and most passing TD in a single season (30).

Mallett chose to forgo entering the 2010 NFL Draft, and return for his junior season at Arkansas. Mallett was considered among the top five quarterbacks if he had entered the draft.

Mallett matched or broke 16 school records at Arkansas in 2009.

2010
It was announced on February 17 that Mallett had suffered a left foot injury in a change of direction conditioning drill. The junior had successful surgery later that day, and a planned second surgery was announced on June 9. Mallett missed the Razorback spring game and spring drills, but he did not miss fall camp. During the off season, Mallett was named one of college football's most irreplaceable players by ESPN.com, and he appeared on College Football Live. At the SEC's 2010 Media Days conference, Mallett became the first Arkansas quarterback to be named preseason first-team All-SEC by the SEC coaches. He was listed as the frontrunner for the Davey O'Brien Award by The Sporting News and a potential Heisman Trophy candidate. He was also named a preseason All-SEC quarterback and preseason All-American quarterback by numerous organizations.

Mallett's performance in 2009 led to higher expectations in 2010. The junior stated that he wished to change the mindset of Arkansas fans into that of a winning program. The confident Mallett was quoted saying, "I'm looking for 14," when asked about how many wins the 2010 Razorbacks could achieve.

On September 4, 2010, Mallett completed 21-of-24 passes (87.5%), setting an Arkansas school record for completion percentage in a game. The completion percentage also ranks second all-time in SEC football history. Mallett contributed 301 passing yards, as well, with a total of 8 receivers recording catches. Arkansas defeated Tennessee Tech in the game 44-3.

Mallett finished seventh in voting for the 2010 Heisman Trophy award.

On January 6, 2011, Mallett decided to forgo his senior year at Arkansas and declare for the 2011 NFL Draft where he was drafted in the 3rd round after sliding out of the first day's picks.

Collegiate awards

 * 2010 Premier Player of College Football Trophy Winner
 * 2009 and 2010 All-SEC second team by Coaches and AP
 * Autozone Liberty Bowl Offensive MVP
 * SEC Offensive Player of the Week (vs. South Carolina & Mississippi State)

Statistics
Updated on January 6, 2011

New England Patriots (2011–present)
Mallett, who was often projected prior to the draft as a first-round talent, fell to the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft, where he was selected 74th overall by the New England Patriots (using the pick they received when they traded Randy Moss to the Minnesota Vikings); that pick is the highest pick the Patriots have used on a quarterback since taking Drew Bledsoe number one overall in 1993. According to Michael Lombardi of the NFL Network, the Patriots rated Mallett as the best quarterback available in the 2011 draft; nevertheless, six other quarterbacks were taken before the Patriots drafted him, drawing comparisons to Tom Brady, who was the seventh quarterback chosen in 2000, though with the 199th pick.

2011 season
Mallett made his preseason debut in the Patriots' first preseason game, a 47–12 rout of the Jacksonville Jaguars on August 11. He played the entire second half, completing 12 of 19 passes for 164 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions. The Patriots scored touchdowns on each of the first four drives Mallett led, and ran out the clock on his fifth and final drive. Mallett struggled in his next preseason games throwing an interception which was returned for a touchdown in his second game. At his fourth preseason game against the Giants he was 6 for 16 for 57 yards. Mallett spent 2011 as the Patriots' third-string QB, behind Tom Brady and Brian Hoyer; Mallett was inactive for 15 out of 16 regular season games and instead played on the practice squad of 5 players in 2011 and was inactive for every post season game for the Patriots' Super Bowl run.

2012 season
Following the Patriot's decision to release incumbent back-up quarterback Brian Hoyer prior to the season, Mallett was promoted to second string signal caller behind Tom Brady. Mallett dressed in each of the first eight games of the season, and in their blowout 45-7 rout over the St Louis Rams in London on 28 October 2012, Mallett took his first snaps in the NFL, completing 1/3 passes for 17 yards (his one completion to Shane Vereen) and a passer rating of 53.5. In the Patriots blowout victory against the Houston Texans in December 2012, Mallett came into the game late in the fourth quarter and threw his first interception in the NFL. The intercepted pass hit the intended receiver in the hands prior to being caught by the defender.

Stature
NFL.com lists Mallett as standing 6'7", and weighing 253 pounds, while the Patriots' website lists him an inch shorter and 15 pounds lighter (6'6", 238 pounds).