Michigan football countdown to kickoff: 15 days until 2022 season
There’s much anticipation heading into the Michigan Wolverines football season, and TheWolverine.com is counting down the days until the Sept. 3 opener against Colorado State. We’ll discuss current Michigan events, the upcoming season and/or take a look at a significant number that correlates with how many days remain until kickoff, whether it be a player’s jersey number, a year, a date, a score, etc.
Michigan football has a little over two weeks until it starts the 2022 season. Fans have to get through 15 more football-less days before the Wolverines take the field. Today, we revisit one of the bigger “what ifs” of recent program history.
Ryan Mallett was a five-star quarterback in the 2007 class and the supposed heir apparent at the position for Michigan. He was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Texas in 2006 and a participant in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in 2007. He chose to go to Michigan over a list of schools that included Alabama, Arkansas, Florida State, Nebraska and Texas. Mallett had prototypical size at 6-7, 252 pounds and a big arm to boot.
Mallett stepped in for an injured Chad Henne during the 2007 season and started games against Notre Dame, Penn State and Minnesota and also played a decent amount against Wisconsin. He would finish the year with 892 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions.
A changing of the guard
By all accounts, Mallett likely should have been the quarterback fo the future for Michigan. However, the coaching change from Lloyd Carr to Rich Rodriguez threw a wrench in those plans. Instead of adapting the offense around the talent it had, Rodriguez wanted to go full-spread, which led to Mallett transferring to Arkansas. “RichRod” went his first full season without a quarterback capable of running his system after whiffing on Terrelle Pryor, who chose Ohio State, on the recruiting trail. Michigan would instead finish 3-9, followed by a 5-7 2009 season quarterbacked by a true freshman in Tate Forcier.
Mallett had to sit out the 2008 season at Arkansas, but started all 26 games for the Razorbacks over the next two seasons. The former Michigan passer threw for 3,869 yards, 30 touchdowns and 7 interceptions in 2009 and followed it up with 3,869 yards, 32 touchdowns and 12 interceptions during the 2010 season. This earned him two-time All-SEC second-team consideration.
Mallett fell to the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft, going No. 74 overall to the New England Patriots. By year two, he became Tom Brady’s backup and was with the team through the 2013 season. He spent 2014-15 with the Houston Texans before joining the Baltimore Ravens in 2015 through 2017, which was his last season in the NFL to this point.
Michigan football countdown to kickoff
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