Ryan Mallett (born June 5, 1988) is a former
American football quarterback who is currently the head football coach at
White Hall High School
White Hall High School is a public high school located in White Hall, Arkansas, United States. White Hall serves grades 912 for the White Hall School District.
It serves White Hall, sections of Pine Bluff, and Redfield. It also serves Jefferson. ...
in
White Hall, Arkansas
White Hall is a city in Washington Township, located in Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. With a population of 5,526 in the 2010 census, it is included in the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and the greater Little Rock-Nor ...
. He played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
at
Arkansas, and was drafted by the
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
in the third round of the
2011 NFL Draft
The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York C ...
. He also played for the
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...
and
Baltimore Ravens.
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
The All-American Bowl is a high school football all-star game, held annually at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Typically played in January, the All-American Bowl is played between all-star teams representing the eastern and western United S ...
in 2007 and won the
Glenn Davis Army Award
The Glenn Davis Army Award is given annually to the player of the West team at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, who best epitomizes the US Army's high standards of excellence in community service, education, and athletic excellence. The award i ...
as the best player on the West team. He chose to play at
Michigan over numerous Power 5 offers.
High school statistics
College career
Michigan
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
Notre Dame, French for "Our Lady", a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, most commonly refers to:
* Notre-Dame de Paris, a cathedral in Paris, France
* University of Notre Dame, a university in Indiana, United States
** Notre Dame Fighting Irish, th ...
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 #Redirect Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...
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
Mario Cashmere Manningham (born May 25, 1986) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft. After receiving few opportunities in his rookie year, Manningham caught 1 ...
, 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. Overall, he finished the 2007 season with 892 passing yards, seven passing touchdowns, and five interceptions.
Departure from Michigan
Mallett's place at Michigan was in question after new head coach
Rich Rodriguez was hired to replace retiring coach
Lloyd Carr because of the style of offense Rodriguez ran at
West Virginia. Rodriguez chose to overhaul Michigan's offense and installed a
"spread" read option offensive scheme, which did not fit Mallett's skills as a drop-back, pocket quarterback. Rodriguez unsuccessfully courted
Terrelle Pryor to run Michigan's offense. Mallett and his family maintain he was open to staying at Michigan had Rodriguez been open to utilizing his skill set as a pro style passer.
On January 14, 2008, Mallett enrolled at the
University of Arkansas, where he was ineligible to play during the 2008 season due to NCAA transfer policies.
Arkansas
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 pleaded guilty to the
misdemeanor
A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than adm ...
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
Missouri State University (MSU or MO State), formerly Southwest Missouri State University, is a public university in Springfield, Missouri. Founded in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School, it is the state's second largest university by enr ...
, 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 threw 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 to 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
East Carolina University (ECU) is a public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina.
Founded on March 8, 1907, as a teacher training school, East Carolina has grown from its orig ...
, 20–17 in overtime. 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 interception, 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 touchdowns in a single season (30).
Mallett chose to forgo entering the
2010 NFL Draft
The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, with the firs ...
, and returned for his junior season at Arkansas. Mallett was considered among the top five quarterbacks if he had entered the draft.
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
The Davey O'Brien Award, officially the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award, named after Davey O'Brien, is presented annually to the collegiate American football player judged by the Davey O'Brien Foundation to be the best of all National Co ...
by ''
The Sporting News'' and a potential
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...
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
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
. 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, in a 44–3 victory over
Tennessee Tech, 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. In the next game against Louisiana–Monroe, he finished with 400 passing yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. In the next game, against Georgia, he had his third consecutive game with three touchdown passes in the conference victory. Arkansas played Alabama in the next game and suffered their first setback of the season as Mallett had 357 passing yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions. The Razorbacks bounced back in the next game against Texas A&M as Mallett had 310 passing yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. After a loss to Auburn and a victory over Ole Miss, Mallett had 409 passing yards and three touchdowns in a victory over Vanderbilt. After a win over South Carolina, he had 215 passing yards and five touchdowns in a win over UTEP. After closing out the season with victories over Mississippi State and LSU, the Razorbacks faced off against Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl. In his final collegiate game, Mallett had 277 passing yards, two touchdowns, and one interception as the Razorbacks fell 31–26.
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
The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York C ...
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
*Autozone
Liberty Bowl Offensive MVP
*SEC Offensive Player of the Week (vs. South Carolina, Mississippi State, and Vanderbilt)
Statistics
Professional career
New England Patriots
2011 season
Mallett, who was often projected prior to the draft as a first-round talent, fell to the third round of the
2011 NFL Draft
The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York C ...
, where he was selected 74th overall by the
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
(using the pick they received when they traded
Randy Moss to the
Minnesota Vikings); that pick was the highest pick the Patriots had used on a quarterback since taking
Drew Bledsoe number one overall in
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
, until they drafted
Jimmy Garoppolo in the second round of the
2014 NFL Draft
The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...
62nd overall. 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
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
, though with the 199th pick.
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
Axel Edward Brian Hoyer (born October 13, 1985) is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). Since joining the NFL in 2009 as an undrafted free agent, he has started for seven different ...
. Mallett was inactive for 15 out of 16 regular season games and was inactive for every post season game for the Patriots' Super Bowl run.
2012 season
Following the Patriots' decision to release incumbent back-up quarterback
Brian Hoyer
Axel Edward Brian Hoyer (born October 13, 1985) is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). Since joining the NFL in 2009 as an undrafted free agent, he has started for seven different ...
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 October 28, 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
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...
in December 2012, Mallett came into the game late in the fourth quarter and threw his first interception in the NFL on a pass deflected by intended receiver
Visanthe Shiancoe.
2013 season
Mallett was listed as the #2 quarterback on the Patriots' depth chart behind
Tom Brady and ahead of third-string quarterback
Tim Tebow; Tebow would later be released by the Patriots, leaving Mallett as the Patriots' only backup quarterback.
Houston Texans
2014 season
On August 31, 2014 Mallett was traded to the
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...
for a conditional sixth-round pick. He would be the Texans' primary backup until November 5, 2014, when he was named the starting quarterback for the Texans by head coach
Bill O'Brien, replacing
Ryan Fitzpatrick, who was moved down one slot to 2nd on the depth chart.
During Week 11 of the 2014 season, Mallett started his first game, against the
Cleveland Browns where he threw his first touchdown pass to
J. J. Watt
Justin James Watt (born March 22, 1989) is an American football defensive end for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Central Michigan and Wisconsin and was drafted by the Houston Texans i ...
. He went 20 of 30 with two passing touchdowns and a 95.3 passer rating in the 23–7 win over the Browns. On November 23, Mallett tore his
pectoral muscle
Pectoral muscles (colloquially referred to as "pecs") are the muscles that connect the front of the human chest with the bones of the upper arm and shoulder. This region contains four muscles that provide movements to the upper limbs or ribs.
P ...
against the
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
, ending his season.
2015 season
Mallett returned in
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
, battling for the starting quarterback position against former teammate
Brian Hoyer
Axel Edward Brian Hoyer (born October 13, 1985) is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). Since joining the NFL in 2009 as an undrafted free agent, he has started for seven different ...
. He ended up losing the competition to Hoyer. The day after the announcement, Mallett missed the following day's practice, leading some to believe he disagreed with the decision. Mallett apologized and told head coach
Bill O'Brien that he missed practice due to oversleeping.
Mallett replaced Hoyer in the fourth quarter against the
Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1. Head coach Bill O'Brien announced afterward that Mallett would replace Hoyer as the starting quarterback. In Week 2, he completed 27 of his 58 passes for 244 yards, one touchdown and one interception, and a rushing touchdown in a 24–17 loss to the
Carolina Panthers.
In Week 4 against the
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...
, Mallett was benched for Hoyer with the Texans trailing 42–0, and Hoyer would lead the team to 21 points in a 48–21 loss. Despite Hoyer's success in the game, Mallett was named the starter for Week 5 against the
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
. During the Colts game, Mallett was hit hard, forcing him to leave for a play. Mallett appeared able and willing to return but was replaced by Hoyer for the remainder of the game. Hoyer threw for two touchdowns but also threw a costly interception to give the Colts a 27–20 victory. Before the Texans' game against the Dolphins on October 25, Mallett missed the team flight and was forced to fly commercial to join the team in Miami. Two days later, the Texans officially released him.
Baltimore Ravens
On December 15, 2015, in the wake of
Baltimore Ravens quarterback
Matt Schaub suffering an injury following
Joe Flacco
Joseph Vincent Flacco (born January 16, 1985) is an American football quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Delaware after transferring from Pittsburgh and was drafted by the Baltim ...
's own season-ending injury, Mallett signed with the Ravens. On December 27, 2015, Mallett threw for a career-high 274 yards, leading the Ravens to a 20–17 upset victory over the
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
in his seventh career start, after
Jimmy Clausen was benched. He would promptly get a new career high the following week with 292 passing yards in the Ravens' 24–16 loss to the
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
.
Following Schaub returning to the
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...
to be
Matt Ryan's backup and Clausen retiring from the NFL, Mallett became Flacco's primary backup in 2016, appearing in four games. He completed three of his six passes and also threw an interception.
On March 9, 2017, Mallett signed a one-year contract extension with the Ravens. After Flacco suffered a concussion late in the second quarter of the Week 8 game against the
Miami Dolphins, Mallet entered the game and completed three of seven passes for 20 yards and one touchdown as the Ravens won by a score of 40–0.
Post-NFL career
Mallett worked out for the
Washington Redskins on December 4, 2018, but was not signed. He worked out for the
XFL in
Tampa Bay, Florida, on June 29, 2019. After a car accident, Mallett was arrested for suspicion of
driving while intoxicated in
Arkansas on September 10, 2019. On April 16, 2020, Mallet was announced as an assistant coach at
Mountain Home High School in
Mountain Home, Arkansas
Mountain Home is a city in, and the county seat of, Baxter County, Arkansas, United States, in the southern Ozark Mountains near the northern state border with Missouri. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 12,448. A total of 41, ...
. In 2022, he became the head football coach at
White Hall High School
White Hall High School is a public high school located in White Hall, Arkansas, United States. White Hall serves grades 912 for the White Hall School District.
It serves White Hall, sections of Pine Bluff, and Redfield. It also serves Jefferson. ...
in
White Hall, Arkansas
White Hall is a city in Washington Township, located in Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. With a population of 5,526 in the 2010 census, it is included in the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and the greater Little Rock-Nor ...
.
NFL career statistics
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mallett, Ryan
1988 births
Living people
American football quarterbacks
Arkansas Razorbacks football players
Michigan Wolverines football players
New England Patriots players
Houston Texans players
Baltimore Ravens players
People from Batesville, Arkansas
People from Texarkana, Texas
Players of American football from Texas