Ryan Mallett, nearly five months removed from breaking a bone in his foot, is still hobbled and limited in what he can do at workouts.
He’s had two surgeries, the latest coming June 9 to replace a screw in the injured left foot, and has subsequently worn a protective boot or cast for the better part of five months. Mallett hasn’t run full speed during that time and the clearance of participating in change-of-direction drills — the very drills he was doing when he broke his foot during an early morning workout in February — certainly hasn’t been a possibility since Feb. 17.
But there is good news, even if the timeline and details of Mallett’s recovery have been shrouded.
“I’m fully expecting to be full go by camp,” Mallett said Thursday. “Unless something changes, that’s the plan. I don’t see anything changing as long as everything stays on schedule.”
Mallett’s second surgery, which came as a surprise to some last month, was always a possibility, said the quarterback who set or tied 16 school records last season.
“We knew from the beginning we might have to do it and we decided to go ahead and do it just to be safe,” Mallett explained.
Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett, pictured here April 21 during a spring practice, is still hobbled with an injured left foot but he expects to be cleared for camp in August. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/MICHAEL WOODS)
Conservativeness has been a common theme throughout Mallett’s recovery. Mallett’s leg was even re-cast in preparation for spring break, even though he was medically cleared to shed the cast for a protective boot March 23.
Mallett also stayed in Fayetteville last week when he was originally scheduled to participate in the prestigious Manning Passing Academy hosted by Archie Manning and sons Peyton and Eli Manning.
“I wanted to go really bad,” Mallett said. “I think it would have been a fun experience getting to be around some of the great players in the NCAA and get to know the Mannings better, but when it came down to it I felt it was in my best interest to stay here and focus on my studies since I’m planning to graduate in December. I need to stay in rehab and do what was best for me and the team to prepare for the season.”
RELATED: Raw Audio: Ryan Mallett meets with media, updates us on foot injury
Mallett garnered plenty of attention last season after throwing for 3,624 yards and 30 touchdowns with 7 interceptions last season, but lately the attention on the quarterback has been on his foot rather than his arm.
Mallett didn’t divulge many details about his recovery during the call, and he decided to not address whether he is still wearing a protective boot when asked. But Mallett did divulge that he hasn’t jumped back on a scooter to help transport his injured foot on campus. Even so, Mallett seemed to be as in the dark about his recovery as members of the media asking the questions Thursday.
What’s the next milestone in his recovery timeline?
“You know, I’m not real sure,” Mallett offered. “I don’t ask a lot of questions. I just take it day by day. It’s not long though, I can tell you that.”
When will he start running?
“That’ll be soon,” Mallett said, before finally addressing the obvious cloud hanging above his foot.
“Everybody is worried. We kind of laugh at everybody because they don’t think we’re going to be ready, but we’re going to be ready.”
RELATED: The Foot Watch timeline chronicles Mallett’s recovery
It’s easy to see why fans are worried. Five months Mallett has been hobbled. That’s the length of an entire football season. That’s enough time for the Razorbacks to sweep through the regular season, the SEC Championship and the BCS National Championship in Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 10.
Ryan Mallett caught the nation's attention Jan. 8 when he announced he would stay at Arkansas for his junior season. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/MICHAEL WOODS)
But what matters is the end result. Swapping five months of offseason recovery for five months of success on the road to a championship this fall would surely be welcomed by Arkansas fans and the record-setting quarterback.
Winning a national championship is obviously an opportunity Mallett, once an Arkansas fan growing up in nearby Lincoln, Ark., has looked forward to his entire life.
“I’ve been anxious since Jan. 2, just to get back on the field,” Mallett said, referencing Arkansas’ hard-fought and, on some levels, disappointing 20-17 overtime victory against East Carolina in the Liberty Bowl. Sure, the Razorbacks won, but not converting one single third-down opportunity stuck out more than anything as the offense struggled to put up big points and numbers on the national stage.
“Obviously we didn’t play our best we could have in the bowl game,” Mallett continued. “But we had an opponent that played really good. And we didn’t play up to our maximum potential. Just getting back on the field and showing people what we can do has had us anxious since the bowl game.”
Arkansas’ media relations department says more than 30 journalists participated in the conference call Thursday. The questions posed were also seemingly from two separate mindsets. The national media focused on Mallett’s technique, his future in the NFL and his decision to stay at Arkansas for his junior season. The local media — including myself — were focused on the day-to-day activities and the prognosis on the injured foot.
One thing was certain throughout the conversation — Mallett is a well-versed student in the game of football.
Some highlights:
- The quarterback admitted he needs to improve on his accuracy, especially on short throws.
- In the film room he watches defensive plays 10 to 15 times on film to get a good feel of opponents’ tendencies.
- He says he came back to Arkansas for his junior season because he wanted to fulfill a promise he made to his mother that he would get a college degree. He’s 15 hours away from graduating, and expects to take 12 hours of classes this fall. He plans to take an online course in the spring to finish his curriculum, even if he’s preparing for the NFL Draft.
- Yes, like most college football players, he plays NCAA Football 11. “The advantage to playing video games is reading defenses and going through progressions on that,” Mallett said. “A lot of people don’t really understand that.” Even so, he believes the Razorbacks were “shorted a little bit” in the game’s rankings.
There are a lot of milestones Mallett wants to reach at Arkansas. The first, of course, is getting back on the practice field with his teammates and participating in more activities than just weight lifting and pass skeleton drills.
After that milestone, it’s “full go” as Mallett said.
“Some people would say I’ve got a million things to improve on, and that’s fine,” Mallett said. “What I’m going to improve on is the wins and losses for the Razorbacks. I’m not really focused on anything about the NFL right now. It’s all about trying to win the SEC and the BCS.”
It’s a journey five months in the making.
Make sure to check out WholeHogSports.com and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for more coverage. You can also follow us on Twitter for breaking news updates with @bmarcello and @wholehogsports.
Is anyone else increasingly nervous with this thing? I guess, theoretically, he could not go full speed in August to give more time to recover, but when this started in February, no one was thinking this would still be an issue in mid-July! Something doesn’t smell right.
I think we should trust in the coaches, which say everything is fine.
I think we can all get used to the idea that even if Ryan plays, he has missed alot of the off season and isn’t going to be what he would have been had it not been for the injury. Typical, historical, for the Hogs.
I agree with you Jay. It seems like this thing has dragged on and on. I almost expect to hear he’s back in a protective boot when fall camp starts. No matter which way you slice it, this is not good. I’m not saying it’s devestating or that the sky is falling, but for a QB who needed to improve his footwork this season, an injury to the foot isn’t the best thing.
I really can’t understand folks who believe that they are able to shed weight with diets & pills. Come on , man, come on!!! Its not rocket science now, is it? Intake less calories than you burn and you will slim down – yes, its that simple!!!