Mallett Monday

Michigan quarterback commitment Ryan Mallett is quickly establishing himself in San Antonio as a force on the West Team. The first day of practice was Monday, and Mallett was a prominent participant. Read on with photos.

Click for: Mallett - Monday afternoon #2

3:10- In watching the three quarterbacks, they all have high upside, none more so than Ryan Mallett. Mallett's problem is he throws with so much arm that he's not as accurate. On the other hand, Jimmy Clausen doesn't have the power in his throws that Mallett does but he has much better touch and accuracy. Nick Fanuzzi has a good arm, but a much lower release point.

2:10- The afternoon practice started with some more special teams emphesis. A pair of West quarterbacks, Ryan Mallett and Nick Fanuzzi, both were on the West's kickoff return team. Fanuzzi was in the front line while Mallett was in the wedge.

It's evident that Mallett is a big part of the camraderie of the West and has been a vocal leader on the practice field today.

Click for: Mallett - Monday afternoon #1

The West started out with pre-practice special teams with Stanford-bound David Green doing all of the kicking duties for the West. Ryan Mallett, in addition to his quarterback duties, is the backup punter for the West. Chris Galippo and Ryan Miller "won" the early tryouts for the longsnapping duties.

Quarterbacks: Mallett looked the best of the QBs in the early morning with good size, arm strength and an effortless delivery. Towards the end of the practice, he really picked up his play. Immediately, he showed his leadership, jumping in on the kickoff team and from the moment they crossed the white lines, stepped it up.

Michael Williams was the surprise of the morning. Not the biggest, fastest or strongest player, Williams shows an uncanny ability to make plays, using his football intelligence and instincts to be in position to make a play.

Click for: Mallett - Monday Morning

11:00- Now the players are in their positional groups.

Mallett is showing the best arm strength of any of the quarterbacks and hes overwhelming the receivers, who are having a difficult time catching his passes or even getting to them as quick as the passes are coming.

Big 12 recruiting analyst Jeremy Patterson said that Mallett has the best raw tools of any quarterback he's seen and is possibly the most physically impressive player he's seen in high school.