It was a shocking announcement late Thursday afternoon that crushes Arkansas fans with the reports out of Florida that Ryan Mallett drowned Tuesday afternoon. He was 35 years old.
Mallett was loving his current role as head coach at White Hall High School near Pine Bluff, Ark. Most Razorback fans figured the passer that set passing records for the Hogs in only two seasons after transferring from Michigan would be playing in the NFL right now. He spent a few seasons on the bench as a backup to Tom Brady in New England and never really did more with a couple of teams later.
According to a report from Deltaplex News in Pine Bluff, Ark., Mallett was transported from a beach to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The news was confirmed by Skip Carr, assistant principal at White Hall (Ark.) High School, It was his first head coaching job after serving as an assistant coach and he had found something he really enjoyed, using what he had learned while with the Hogs under former coach Bobby Petrino waiting a year after transferring from Michigan (2008).
In his time with the Razorbacks, Mallett threw for over 3,600 yards in each season, totaling 62 touchdowns to just 19 interceptions. He played in two bowl games for Arkansas, a Liberty Bowl win over East Carolina and a Sugar Bowl loss to Ohio State.
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