Mother’s Revelation about Mallett Confirms What Petrino, Wilson Knew
Many will remember Ryan Mallett as arguably the greatest quarterback in Arkansas football history. For one grieving mother, though, he was much more than that.
Entering his second season as the head coach at White Hall High, Mallett was a confidant for Shaneisha Robinson, whose son was shot and killed on May 18.
The 18-year-old was also a player for Mallett, who took his death hard. As neighbors, he would visit Ben Redix and his mother often and, in an interview with KARK 4 News, Robinson said those visits didn’t stop after Redix’s passing.
“Sometimes he would come over here crying or I’d go over there crying,” Robinson said. “He looked out for me.”
Mallett even let her know about his trip to Florida — one from which he’d never return, as he drowned in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday. He wanted Robinson to know he was there for her even if he was out of town.
The Open-Heartedness of Ryan Mallett
Although his maturation in recent years is well-documented, that trait of Mallett — being there for those who need him — is one that he’s had for a while.
Former Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson, who was Mallett’s backup before taking over the starting job, remembered that aspect of him during an interview on The Morning Rush, the morning radio show on ESPN Arkansas.
“Sure, there’s moments and we’re all flawed and have our own imperfection,” Wilson said. “But there was nobody that was a teammate of Ryan Mallett that couldn’t say that he would give them everything in the moments we needed it.”
Like Robinson, but in a much more insignificant scenario, Wilson benefited from the open-heartedness of Mallett.
During the epic showdown with Auburn in 2010, which featured a pair of Heisman Trophy hopeful quarterbacks in Cam Newton and Mallett, the latter was knocked out of the game just before halftime.
In the locker room, even with the disappointment of having to leave such a big game, Mallett gave Wilson his full support and continued to do so on the sideline until the end of what proved to be a 65-43 loss.
“What I remember is Ryan looked me dead in the eye and said, ‘Go get them, man,’ and he gave me a high-five,” Wilson said. “You can determine the heart of a person by how they react in their own situation and that’s not the circumstance Ryan wanted, that wasn’t the outcome that he wanted.
“(He was) high-fiving me every step along the way and I will never forget that, his support as a teammate in that moment.”
An Impact Beyond the Field
Wilson also shared that Mallett served as a “bridge” for what was a “polarizing disconnect in the locker room” as the Razorbacks shifted from the Houston Nutt era to the Bobby Petrino era.
That — along with his leadership abilities as a quarterback — helped guide the Razorbacks to heights never before experienced since joining the SEC in 1992.
“He had great courage,” Petrino said in an interview on 103.7 The Buzz. “That’s one of the things we lack in our society right now, is the courage to lead, the courage for young men to be able to tell other young men, ‘This is how we’re going to do it and this is the right way to do it.’ Ryan was very, very courageous and helped everybody get on the same page.”
More important than his 18-8 record as a starter, 7,493 passing yards and 62 touchdown passes, though, was what he was doing more than a decade removed from wearing an Arkansas football uniform.
Following a stint as an offensive coordinator at Mountain Home, Mallett was hired as the head coach at White Hall High School, just outside of Pine Bluff. He led the Bulldogs to a 4-6 record in his first season and had his sights set on more success in Year 2.
However, his impact off the field and in the community was far greater than anything he could have achieved on the field. That was evident in his relationship with Shaneisha Robinson and her late son, Ben Redix, but it was only going to grow had his life not been tragically cut short.
“I really feel bad for his players there,” Petrino said. “They’re going to miss him. His contagious personality and contagious energy is something that not everybody in this world has. He was able to be such a great leader and such an influence that I know he was doing a great job there and was getting those guys to play with a lot of energy and a lot of pride.”
***
Hear Tyler Wilson’s full interview with ESPN Arkansas about Ryan Mallett here:
Listen to Bobby Petrino’s full interview with 103.7 The Buzz about Ryan Mallett here:
***
More coverage of Ryan Mallett and Arkansas football from BoAS…
Source: Best of Arkansas Sports
