Transcript: Mallett talks hygiene, long passes, punts on ESPN's First Take

What did we glean from Ryan Mallett‘s appearance on ESPN’s “First Take” this morning? Well, he bathes four to five times a day and he can throw a football more than 80 yards.

I can not confirm that he can throw a football a quarter-mile or “over them mountains,” like Uncle Rico in “Napoleon Dynamite,” but the fact that he can throw a ball more than 80 yards is darn impressive. Not only that, he revealed he has as powerful a leg as any kicker on the Razorbacks’ roster.

And I know you guys are ready for the season, but Mallett also talked about last season and the record he thought his Hogs were close to achieving in Year 2 of the Bobby Petrino Era.

I sat down and transcribed Mallett’s appearance on ESPN. The full transcription of his interview with ESPN’s Reischea Canidate can be read below. Enjoy.

Reischea Canidate: Ryan. Heisman Trophy candidate. How does that sound to you?

Ryan Mallett: You know, that’s a great honor but my worries are about getting my team to Atlanta right now. But just to be mentioned with those other guys, it’s a pretty big honor for me.

Canidate: You guided the Razorbacks to three more wins than in the 2008 season, finishing 8-5 and beating Eastern Carolina in the Liberty Bowl. What are your expectations for this season?

Mallett: We’ve got great expectations of ourselves. Last year, we felt like we could have easily been 10-3 if the ball would have bounced our way a few times, but we weren’t. We’ve got a lot of guys back and we’re just looking forward to Saturday and getting this thing rolling.

Canidate: All right, I’ve got some really fun and interesting facts about you. I want them confirmed. Let’s start with true or false here. I read that you can throw a ball more than 80 yards and have punted a ball more than 60 yards. True or False?

Mallett: True.

Canidate: OK, true. Have you done either of these things in a game?

Mallett: Yes.

Host: You have! What game?

Mallett: I had two punts over 60 in high school in one game.

Canidate: Oh, outstanding. See, that means there are witnesses. Witnesses! Did you guys go on and win with these punts and what have you?

Mallett: Oh, yes, ma’am, we sure did.

Canidate: OK, see, that’s really all that definitely matters.

Your history with Razorback Nation is long. You used to park cars at the stadiums for games, so you could get tickets. How did you get that job?

Mallett: Really, I was just helping my sister out. It was a fundraiser for one of the clubs she was in, in her middle school and they said if you help you get to go watch the games for free. So, of course, I was the first one ready to go.

Canidate: How difficult was it to get tickets to those Arkansas games?

Mallett: You know, it was hard. Arkansas is a great place to play football and the fans are great, so to get a ticket to the game was kind of hard.

Canidate: Parking cars. So, let me see, what was the best or most memorable car that you got to park?

Mallett: Well, see, I kind of just threw the football on the side with my friend and then, if a car would come in, I would just point. I didn’t really just park every car.

Canidate: You weren’t the actual valet. You were just like, ‘Yeah, over this way. Over this way.’

I also read that four or five a showers a day, Ryan?

Mallett: Yeah. I don’t know what it is. I just like to be clean and so I take a lot of showers.

Canidate: Ivory fresh.

I read also that your favorite professional athlete is LeBron James, so let me ask you what’s your whole take on this whole LeBron-Cleveland-Miami saga?

Mallett: I mean, that’s a tough situation to be in. Obviously he’s a great athlete and that’s why he’s one of my favorite athletes — his athleticism and the way he approaches the game. I think they’re going to be successful in Miami, though.

Canidate: OK. All right. It’s been a great argument right now and a lot of people already have Miami taking away the championship trophy from the Lakers. We’ll see how it all works out.

Ryan, I’ve got to ask you: Obviously you are a Heisman hopeful here. Ryan Mallett wins the Heisman Trophy for the 2010 season if?

Mallett: The Razorbacks win the SEC Championship and national championship game.

Canidate: OK, and we will be looking out to see if you guys can pull that off. Ryan Mallett, Heisman hopeful and quarterback for the Arkansas Razorbacks, best of luck this season as you guys open up versus Tennessee Tech on Saturday.

Thanks for hanging out with us here today, Ryan.

Mallett: Thank you and thank you for having me.

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.

— Brandon Marcello