Wilson vs Mallett: There Can Only Be One

by John Expat on Apr 23, 2009 12:12 AM CDT in Bobby Petrino Comment 6 comments

The dog days of the offseason don't bring a lot of genuinely exciting news, but tomorrow (Thursday) actually promises to be a rare exception. That's when Bobby Petrino will emerge from a fog-shrouded temple atop an Ozark mountain and produce a stone tablet engraved with the name of the starting QB for the 2009 football team. At least that's how I assume it will work...

Despite the fact that Ryan Mallett stands 7'4" tall, weighs 350 lbs and can throw a football from Fayetteville to Little Rock, Tyler Wilson's strong play this spring has led to the first legitimate QB battle in eons (not counting last year's Battle of the Dicks, of course...and yes, I just typed that to make one last cheap Dick family joke). In fact, in an excellent recent post on the Slophouse blog, Brandon Marcello breaks down the numbers and points out that Wilson actually has better scrimmage stats than his more-heralded rival.

But, Mallett leads in the all-important category of Best Offseason Mug Shot, and most leading experts expect that to be enough to push him into the #1 slot. Either way, the Hogs are in better QB shape than they've been in a loooooooong time (and people are taking notice).

Next season should be fun. Let us know what you think about the QB battle in the comments section...

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For the record, I believe the Battle of the Dicks was officially classified as “Swordfight 2K8.”

by The Hog Blogger on Apr 23, 2009 12:55 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I don’t know if it wouldn’t be a bad idea for Petrino to say that they both played well this spring, but we aren’t going to name a QB until after fall practice. The idea being that you keep the competitive juices flowing a little longer. They both will work even harder during the summer “voluntary” workouts and during the fall practice.

John, I love your Moses analogy! haha.

by KevinHog on Apr 23, 2009 8:52 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

This is something to really take note of. Under the Nutt dynasty there wasn’t a such thing as a QB battle. There were duos and trios, but nothing of a set-in-stone starting QB. Come to think of it, there wasn’t much position development under Nutt when you compared to our rivals in the SEC.

It is nice to have a coach that looks for more than heart.

by Ron Carter on Apr 23, 2009 9:11 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I think your right. He will probably see who works harder for it in the summer and let the battle continue in the fall. He will release the spring depth chart the way he started it with Mallet or Wilson. He also could name Mallett the starter to put pressure on Wilson or vice versa. Nothing against the Dick brothers but I’m liking the battle more then ever.

by Jeremy on Apr 23, 2009 9:14 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

They are two good, YOUNG talents. Neither has taken a significant SEC snap. Bobby doesn’t strike me as playing many head games with his QBs.

Mallett has the physical skills, Wilson appears, at present, to be the more consistent, better operator.

I’ve got to figure Mallett gets the first shot. He had the most 1st team reps. BUT, big but, if he stumbles too much early you gotta believe the hook is there to see what Wilson can do.

OR- just play ‘em 1 and 1A from the start and don’t name a starter until the 4th game. I don’t see it, but I’m not Petrino. It will be GREAT fun to watch.

by BlindHog on Apr 23, 2009 9:53 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs