(I'm forwarding the film to Allen Trieu -- he'll make some video out of it for you guys next week!)
I was expecting a highlight film -- instead I was given a film with ninety-five 2005 pass completions - pretty much ALL Mallett's completions of the Texarkana Texas High's 11-game '05 season (the Tigers lost in first round of playoffs in a barn-burner to Matt Stafford's state champ Highland Park team)
Statistics (11 games ... and this is my own count from reviewing the film)
-- 95 pass completions comprised the film
-- 22 touchdown passes on the film
-- eight bombs of 40 yards or more, the longest two 55 yards each ... (I mean ball in the air that far, there were other completions of that length where a shorter pass got yards-after-catch)
-- 13 'athletic plays' by RMallett -- scrambles, rollouts, jump-passes, etc
Analysis:
-- The best play was the only incompletion filmed -- a ball snapped from the Texarkana 45, a scramble where Mallett, running backwards/sideways with a defender hanging on him, flips a 55 yarder off his back foot, right on the money to the receiver at the goal line ... the receiver was yanked down to prevent the TD in a stunning non-interference-call.
-- the 'INFINITE ARM' is a given -- he flipped every pass effortlessly, even the bombs.
-- his accuracy and touch are as amazing as his arm -- he put EACH AND EVERY BALL right where the receiver needed to have it. PRECISELY! His receivers had good hands but were not overly speedy, nonetheless there were mucho yards after the catches because RM put the ball exactly in the place that made YAC's possible ... also the wideouts were never that open but RM always put the ball on the side away from the defender altho still right in the receivers' hands. Every gosh-darn time ... simply unbelievable.
-- more on touch -- all balls were soft and catchable ... he never gunned the ball like he did at the '05 Michigan Camp where he 'let it all hang out' ... with his own wideouts in game action he flipped easy passes, right on the money, every time ... even I could've been a wideout on that team!
-- accuracy again ... of the 95 receptions shown there was only one -- I swear just uno-- where the receiver had to reach a little bit, actually a little jump on a slightly-high ball which nonetheless was the only place that particular ball could've been put to be catchable since the receiver was covered.
-- touch again -- great, soft touch on screens to his running backs as well.
-- timing -- great timing on slant passes, screen passes, all passes.
-- he used all his receivers -- tight end, two wideouts, the running back.
-- he made every kind of throw -- outs, slants, posts, rollouts, screens, you name it ... made all look like child's play
-- running the ball -- uh uh ... there were two running plays on the tape, both TD's -- a QB sneak and a QB fake-rollout TD. Nonetheless he looked athletic on the runs -- by why risk the 'golden arm'?
-- he even sorta-blocked on one end-around ... got in the way mainly.
-- running the offense. He seemed to be audibling as many times as not, getting everyone to line up properly every time ... clearly in charge of the whole operation.
-- he took a lot of snaps from the shotgun ... perhaps half? (or even slightly more?). He dropped back easily as well however.
This is Texas High School football, remember, so for high school it's sophisticated ... Texarkana-Texas High is 4-A which is next-to-largest classification (up to 500 kids per class approx.)
There you have it -- has there ever been a high school quarterback like it, as a passer I mean?
(notice that he was the first QB named to the Elite 11 ... with all the hype others have gotten, that is telling ...) *****************
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