Mallett happy Hog, not hog

Arkansas sophomore Ryan Mallett is the only 6-foot-7 quarterback in the Southeastern Conference.

He is the lone SEC quarterback with previous starting experience in the Big Ten, and he is the only recovering Taco Bell addict. Mallett made multiple runs to the border during his pre-Razorback days, with a personal consumption record far more suitable for noseguards.

"It was $16," a laughing Mallett said. "It was a couple of quesadillas and a couple of bean burritos. I went through everything."

Excessive eating was never a problem for Mallett, who was 6-3, 185 pounds and had a size-13 shoe as a 13-year-old. He weighed 265 pounds when he transferred from Michigan, where he went 3-0 as a starter in 2007, but is at 235 entering Saturday night's home game against No. 23 Georgia.

After sitting out last season due to NCAA transfer rules, the sleeker Mallett showed no signs of rust Sept. 5 in a 48-10 dismantling of Missouri State. He completed his first nine passes and wound up 17-of-22 for 309 yards, which included a 40-yard touchdown pass to Joe Adams that culminated a 99-yard drive in the third quarter.

"Ryan did a nice job," Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino said. "He played very calmly, so he did a good job of not being too excited for his first game. He did a nice job distributing the ball. That's what I thought he did best. He didn't force anything and knew what the coverages were."

The Razorbacks scored on all five possessions (three touchdowns) with Mallett, and 13 players had receptions. Arkansas was 30-of-41 passing overall for 447 yards, the first 400-yard game in program history, and Petrino said there wasn't one dropped pass.

Such numbers were unimaginable before Mallett, who grew up a Razorbacks fan in Texarkana, Texas, and helped park cars at Arkansas games to earn tickets. He is somewhat of a Hogs historian, citing a 42-6 win over Alabama in 1998 as his all-time favorite.

"We just ran the ball all over them," he said. "I was sitting in the end zone. It was a pretty neat thing."

Mallett was Rivals.com's No. 4 prospect in the 2007 signing class, trailing Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen, Southern Cal tailback Joe McKnight and Tennessee safety Eric Berry. He could not have picked a worse time to enroll at Arkansas, however, which had reported feuding at that time between coach Houston Nutt and offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn.

So he opted instead for Lloyd Carr's Wolverines.

"There were a bunch of different factors," Mallett said. "Michigan had a really good coaching staff, and there was a lot of stuff going on up here, and I didn't feel like I needed to come be a part of it. That's why I went up there. It was a strange time, because I was doing something I had wanted to do since I was little, playing college football, but it was at a different school than I thought I would be at."

Mallett quarterbacked Michigan to wins over Notre Dame and Penn State while starter Chad Henne was injured in '07, but Carr announced his retirement that November. The Wolverines hired Rich Rodriguez, who had excelled at West Virginia running the spread offense, and Mallett said he and Rodriguez mutually agreed that it wouldn't be a good fit.

So after playing at a school that was often an 18-hour drive from Texarkana, Mallett chose Arkansas and a coach more familiar with pro-style quarterbacks.

"I don't really get into the comparison game, but he's the tallest quarterback I've ever worked with," Petrino said. "He's got all the ability to be a good player. He's just got to stay focused and keep concentrating. The No. 1 thing about a quarterback is when all 10 guys around him play well, the quarterback has a good opportunity to play well."

Mallett's 30-pound weight drop has allowed him to become more of a running threat, and he has the versatility to punt as well. He punted throughout spring practice, where he helped out until "we got some real ones here."

Georgia will represent the first SEC foe for Mallett, who's excited about the opportunity and said his Taco Bell days are a thing of the past.

"I eat there once every four months, maybe," he said.