By the end of his career on The Hill, Mallett was averaging nearly 300 yards per game and was essential in preparing Tyler Wilson to take over the reigns. Mallett had as much to do with the turnaround from the Houston Nutt era as any player or coach.
His strong arm sometimes got him in trouble, when he tried to fit balls in spaces that were not ever going to fit. The Texarkana product had an understandable confidence because he had the strongest arms in college football. Heck, ESPN was so blown away with it, they had the Sports Science team check the thing out more closely.
The first Mallett Memory that comes to mind is came from the 2010 Thanksgiving weekend when Mallett threaded a ball to Cobi Hamilton for an 80-yard touchdown with six seconds left in the first half. I like to think that he threw the ball knowing he would make the LSU defenders collide. You can decide for yourself.
Here's the clip, and the fun starts at the 0:56 mark:
That was good and all, but my favorite Mallett Memory came against Georgia. I had been sitting in the hot sun in Athens for too long, donned in my Darren McFadden jersey.
Georgia scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to bring what seemed like what would be an Arkansas win into question. In the final minute, Mallett hit Greg Childs for a game-winning score. My old man then hugged the stranger next to him, a bearded guy who looked eerily similar this site's editor, Doc Harper. It was an awesomely beautiful moment.
So what's your favorite Mallett Memory? There are plenty of strong-armed, stiff footed throws out there.
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A native of Arkansas now calling the Hogs from yonder in Georgia, you can follow Graham on Twitter @grahamreaves or read his blog, On My Mind In Georgia.