Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

This football season marks the 21st for the Razorbacks as members of the SEC. Having completed two decades in the league it seemed worth reflecting on how far the program has come. Which victories over the last 20 years were the sweetest? Were there losses that hurt more than others? What coaching decisions still have folks scratching their heads? ArkansasSports360.com assembled a panel aimed at answering these questions. We have our list and we'd love to hear yours.

No. 4 on our moments you would love to forget ...

The Springdale 5
When It Happened: 2005-2007
Who We Remember: Houston Nutt, Gus Malzahn, Mitch Mustain, Damian Williams, Ben Cleveland, the list goes on
Why We’d Like To Forget: Most every Razorback fan knew about the Springdale 5 before they even began their senior high school season. Florida commitments Damian Willams and Ben Cleveland, Notre Dame commitment Bartley Webb, and Arkansas commitments Andrew Norman and Mitch Mustain, a quarterback listed among the top players in the country, headlined one of the most successful teams in state history.

The promise of Mustain kept Arkansas fans hopeful during the dreadful 2005 season while Springdale dominated every team it faced. But after Springdale won the state championship, Mustain decommitted from Arkansas, causing a panic among the Razorback faithful.

Then-coach Houston Nutt hired Springdale Coach Gus Malzahn as his offensive coordinator to help boost the offense. Malzahn’s hurry-up-no-huddle system had been extraordinarily successful, and the hope was that it would work on the college level. It also helped Mustain, Williams, and Cleveland commit to Arkansas just before signing day. The hype grew exponentially when Mustain and Williams connected on a long drive to score a touchdown late in Arkansas’ blowout loss to USC, then Mustain connected with Cleveland on a game-winning throw against Alabama weeks later. 

Then everything unraveled. Nutt pulled Mustain in favor of Casey Dick after Mustain threw an interception against South Carolina. Williams transferred to USC in December, with Mustain following after the spring. Malzahn left Arkansas for the same position at Tulsa. Eventually Malzahn, who is now head coach at Arkansas State, would leave for Auburn where he had success recruiting Arkansas and helped the Tigers to a 2010 national title season.

Late in 2006 and 2007, stories surfaced that revealed much of the off-the-field turmoil. A booster with close ties to the Nutt family was discovered to have sent a distasteful email to Mustain that began “Dear Mr. Interception King." Lawsuits and charges of lack of oversight resulted in Freedom of Information Act requests that, among other things, showed Nutt’s embarrassing text messaging habits. The Springdale shadow remained over the program until Nutt left after the 2007 season.

Up Next: So close ...

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Doc Harper is the editor of ArkansasExpats.com and is a regular contributor to ArkansasSports360.com. You can email him at heydocharper@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @doc_harper.