Horrible news emerged on Tuesday evening that former college football star quarterback Ryan Mallett passed away.
According to Deltaplex News in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Mallett was pronounced dead upon arrival at a Florida hospital after drowning.
“Deltaplex News has confirmed through multiple sources that White Hall head football coach and former Arkansas Razorback quarterback Ryan Mallett has drowned in Florida,” the publication wrote. They continued: “Multiple sources tell Deltaplex News that Mallett was transported to a Florida hospital from a beach. He was pronounced deceased at the hospital.”
Further details have yet to be provided.
White Hall High School in Arkansas hired Mallett to be the head coach for the football program in 2022.
Ryan Mallett was previously a highly-touted recruit going into his college football career. He won the Gatorade Player of the Year award while attending Texarkana High School in Texas. After mulling over several offers, he eventually went on to attend Michigan. Mallett spent his first season in Ann Arbor, but it was an infamous year for the Wolverines. 2007 brought on debilitating losses to Appalachian State and Oregon in back-to-back weeks. He appeared in the game against the Ducks and then went on to play in 11 games that season and started three.
After that season, he transferred to Arkansas after Michigan hired Rich Rodriguez. Mallett spent two seasons with the Razorbacks, in which he threw 62 touchdowns, 19 interceptions, and 7,493 yards. He was named as an All-SEC Second Team selection in 2009 and 2010 and led the team to the Sugar Bowl.
Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots drafted Mallett in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He spent seven seasons in the NFL, primarily as a backup, with the Patriots, the Houston Texans, and the Baltimore Ravens.
Ryan Mallett was 35 years old. Condolences to the Mallett family after this terrible incident.
