The University of Arkansas will file a waiver on behalf of recent transfer Ryan Mallet. They are hoping the NCAA will allow Mallet to play immediately and not sit out the mandatory academic year. Mallet had committed to play football for the University of Michigan in 2007 and when called upon to step in for an injured Chad Henne he played well. However, his Michigan career was over the day Rich Rodriguez was hired as Michigan’s next coach. Mallet was a 5 star recruit and now the most he could’ve hoped for is being a stop gap until Rodriguez recruited a spread quarterback.
The thing that aggravates me the most about Mallet’s (and similar) cases is how the NCAA fails to realize the athlete is more tied to the coach than the university. When a recruit signs his letter of intent he commits to play for a university and the university commits a scholarship to him. This needs to be changed. A recruit should be allowed to to leave his commitment without penalty if the broker leaves. After all it is the coach that sells the recruit on the university and ultimately helps to determine his future via scheme and playing time.
Last February Mallet signed his letter of intent with Michigan because Lloyd Carr told him he would be the future after Chad Henne. Rich Rodriguez didn’t have to honor anything guaranteed / said / promised by Carr to any player and rightfully so. Is it fair the Mallet either stayed at Michigan to waste his talent or sit out of football 18months? No it is not. Big time football recruits go to college because they have to in order to make it to the NFL. Their college education may not be academic, but they should be able to leave for the best opportunity like any other student.
7 responses so far ↓
1 vtbaz // Feb 7, 2008 at 10:18 am
I am of the opposite opinion here. Imagine the scenario where Rodriguez carries half of the Mountainqueer team to UM. To me, this screams like this kid thinks he is hot shit and above the law.
I do think they should reinstate the graduate transfer rule they experimented with last year though.
2 HP // Feb 7, 2008 at 8:44 pm
if it wastes a year of eligibility then the rule is bullshit but if the guy gets to keep his eligibility then it doesnt matter
3 Should Mallet Play Next Year? // Feb 12, 2008 at 2:22 am
[…] reasoning is that there were extenuating circumstances. He choose Michigan to enhance his pro-style of play with Coach Carr, but with the new coach being Rich Rodriguez, everyone knew Mallet wouldn’t do well at the […]
4 cgb // Feb 12, 2008 at 2:57 pm
HP and VTBaz my point is this. A recruit really commits to a university based on the coach (because of style of coaching, playing time, NFL prospect, etc) and if the coach is able to get out of his commitments to the university then why shouldn’t the athlete?
5 HP // Feb 12, 2008 at 11:12 pm
playing football is a privilege whereas the coach is there to make money although i do agree that he should be allowed to play
6 ameed // Feb 19, 2008 at 12:16 pm
This opens a can of worms that the NCAA does not want (I too am shocked I am siding with the NCAA, but here me out). How do you avoid this becoming free agency everytime there is a shakeup? Once you allow a kid to transfer if a head coach leaves, at that point to follow the spirit of the rule shouldn’t a RB be allowed to follow his RB coach if he moves, or a Kicker follow his Special Teams coach, or a lineman his defensive coordinator? Most coaching staffs have a guy or two leave every once in a while even without a Head Coaching change, and most recruits commit due at least in some part to a positions coach. If your coach leaves and you feel you are no longer wanted, then fine, transfer, sit out a year to prove you are committed to this change and you still get the remainder of your eligibility.
I won’t even start about Mallet and how much of a head case he is. He has had one foot out the door since he got to Ann Arbor: last winter there were reports he was transferring because of the cold. He got into verbal altercations with Carr on the sideline during the Illinois game, and with Manningham during the Wisconsin game. Lets face it, Shaun King probably didnt have the same talent that Mallet does and RichRod adjusted his offense to make him a star (and an NFL QB) at Tulane, even though he was a pass first QB. Mallet left because he wanted to leave - there is no reason to change the rules for him.
7 b00berry // Feb 19, 2008 at 10:25 pm
what next, trades? or should you leave when your coordinator does, or your qb? Mallet should have known Carr likely wasn’t going to be there as long as him. The kids who should be hounding the NCAA are the ones at WVU, they got fucked.
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