Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

Scott Surratt had little trouble convincing Texas High players in 2003 that the new arrival to practice was there to compete for the varsity quarterback job. It wasn’t exactly a stretch that a 6-foot-4 move-in with a rocket arm was a candidate for playing time.

Shortly thereafter the Tigers came to realize Ryan Mallett was just an eighth-grader. He wasn’t quite ready to play on their level even if he looked the part.

But Surratt, then the school’s quarterbacks coach, could see tremendous potential in Mallett even at 13 or 14 years old. Mallett went on to start for the varsity in the playoffs the next year as a freshman, and he later became one of the country’s most sought-after recruits in the class of 2007.

By now you’re probably pretty familiar with the rest of Mallett’s story up to this point: Mallett went to Michigan, was encouraged to go elsewhere after a coaching change and became a record-setter at Arkansas. Mallett was drafted No. 74 by the New England Patriots, fulfilling the expectations Surratt and plenty of others had for Mallett all those years ago.

“You could tell very early on that if Ryan worked hard, he could have an opportunity to play professionally,” Surratt told me recently as 70-plus folks gathered for a Mallett family reunion/NFL Draft watch party at a lodge just outside of Stuttgart.

Mallett enters what is perceived to be a good situation with the Patriots. He gets to learn from Tom Brady, an all-pro destined to become an all-time great. Few organizations are as well run and respected (if not hated/envied) as New England.

Mallett, who threw for 7,493 yards and 62 touchdowns in just two seasons at Arkansas, gets that.

“I’m ready to go learn from the best,” Mallett told me shortly after getting the call from the Patriots. “It’s a great opportunity.”

But the opportunity — a word we heard repeatedly after Mallett was drafted — is also a significant challenge. It will be a test.

Forget about the quarterback’s past. Whatever indiscretions, displays of immaturity or questionable decisions Mallett made or didn’t make prior to the draft are immaterial.

What Mallett does from this point forward, though, will set the tone for his NFL career. He has to display maturity in a rare situation where he’s A quarterback and not THE quarterback. Mallett will have to resist the temptations that come with having money, time to burn and no immediate playing time in sight.

Brady, 34, said after the draft he’d like to play until he’s 40. That seems far-fetched, but immediate playing time doesn’t seem promising for Mallett. Depending on how the NFL labor dispute shakes out, Mallett will most likely get a four-year deal. Barring injury to Brady, he might never get a meaningful start for the Patriots.