(The Spread) – If 2011 prospect Ryan Mallett wanted to dispel the rumors that he skipped the 2010 NFL Draft due to a drug addiction, he went about it the wrong way at the scouting combine this weekend.
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When asked about the allegations regarding his illegal drug use, Mallett stood at the podium on Saturday at the combine and refused to talk about the issue.
“Nah, I’m not going to talk about that right now,” Mallett said. “I’ve got interviews with the teams, and the teams need to know what they need to know, and I’m going to leave it at that.”
Mallett came off as cocky and arrogant, and seemed to rub people the wrong way. It’s his choice if he wants to talk about the rumors to the press, but he seemed to handle the situation the wrong way on Saturday. This is a time of year when prospects need to sell themselves and so far, it’s been a rocky start for Mallett as he prepares for the 2011 draft in April.
It’s too bad too, because he’s one hell of a prospect. He stands 6’6” and 238 pounds, has a cannon for an arm and is the prototypical pocket passer that NFL teams covet. But scouts are concerned about his lack of leadership ability, attitude and character. He also played for Bobby Petrino at Arkansas and no quarterback that played under Petrino in college has gone on to have a successful career in the NFL.
But teams are less worried about the system he played in college and more about his attitude. It’s fine if he wants to take a hardened stance with the media, but he’s essentially applying for a job and he has yet to put his best foot forward. He’s still a first round prospect, but quarterbacks have been none to drop all the time. Ben Roethlisberger fell, as did Aaron Rodgers and Brady Quinn. And none of those quarterbacks faced questions about their character while coming out of college.
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