FAYETTEVILLE — Mallett possibly ran late
The great Ryan Mallett mystery must have had something to do with punctuality.
Backup quarterbacks Tyler Wilson and Brandon Mitchell took lots of firstteam snaps on Thursday and Friday, causing Arkansas fans to wonder what was happening with Mallett, the starter who has set or tied 16 school records this season.
“Oh, Ryan’s doing good, you know,” Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino said Monday.
“Obviously we expect every person on the team to be on time and come to practice, have a great attitude and work hard.
“And Ryan came out Saturday, had a great practice, was really accurate with his passes.”
Asked if Mallett was late for a meeting or practice, Petrino replied, “I just expect every player on our team to be on time when we have meetings ... and that’s how we operate.”
Petrino said the extra work has been beneficial for all of the Razorbacks’ reserves, including Wilson and Mitchell.
“I think this preparation has been very good for Tyler, because he has gotten a lot of reps with the 1s and the 2s,” he said. “Brandon has gotten reps with the 2s at times, and a lot of reps with the 3s.
“The other day we were able to throw Brandon in there with the 2s in the middle of a scrimmage, and he did a pretty good job. He moved the club down the field.” McGee raise
Arkansas assistant coach Garrick McGee, who was promoted from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator last week, agreed to a 30-month deal worth $300,000 per year, the same salary earned by his predecessor, Paul Petrino.
The deal will be finalized pending approval of the board of trustees.
McGee originally came on board at Arkansas with a two-year contract worth $185,000 per year. His new deal extends through June 2012.
Curtis at corner
Sophomore De’Anthony Curtis wants to contribute somehow for the Hogs, so perhaps a move to cornerback is in the offing in the off-season. Curtis will remain as a running backfor the Liberty Bowl, but he’s gotten practice time at corner.
“De’Anthony has had a big smile on his face, and I think he’s enjoying it,” Coach Bobby Petrino said.
“We’ve basically just given him individual work at the position. I want to see how his feet are.” Missing Paul
For the first time in the past seven years, Bobby Petrino is not coaching with his brother, Paul, who left Dec. 13 to take the offensive coordinator’s spot at Illinois. The Illini did not qualify for the postseason, so Paul Petrino swung immediately into recruiting, and he will not coach the Razorbacks in the Liberty Bowl.
“Yeah, I certainly miss him,” Bobby Petrino said. “It was a great seven-year run.
He’s an excellent coach and a great motivator for our players, excellent recruiter, so certainly I miss him not being around here.
“But I’m excited about Garrick [McGee] and his leadership and what he’ll do with our offense.”
Bobby Petrino said he was still in the process of looking for a receivers coach and would probably wait until after the Liberty Bowl to make his hire.
Graduate assistant Chip Long is coaching the Arkansas receivers in bowl preparations.
Long is in his third season with Petrino.
“So he really understands the position, he understands what we want in a football coach,” Petrino said. “He knows the day-to-day operations, and he’s a good, young football coach.”
Sports, Pages 18 on 12/22/2009