mitch mustain

Mitch Mustain
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Mitch Mustain
Mustain signing an autograph in the East vs. West Army game January 5, 2006.
College Southern California
Conference Pac-10
Sport Football
Position Quarterback
Jersey # 16
Class Sophomore
Career 2006 � present
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg)
Nationality United States
Born February 27, 1988 (1988-02-27) (age 19)
Springdale, Arkansas
High school Springdale High School,
Springdale, Arkansas
Former school(s) Arkansas
Career highlights
Awards
2006 Hall Trophy National High School Player of the Year
2006 Parade High School Player of the Year
2005-06 Gatorade National Football Player of the Year
2005 USA Today National Player of the Year
Mitchell Mustain (born February 27, 1988 in Springdale, Arkansas, U.S.) is an American college football quarterback at the University of Southern California (USC). Mustain played his freshman year of college at the University of Arkansas in 2006 before transferring to USC in 2007. Under NCAA transfer rules, he will sit out the 2007 season and will be eligible to begin playing in the 2008 season.

Mustain was one of the most highly decorated high school players in history, winning every national player of the year award, and was recruited by nearly every college football program in the United States during the 2005-2006 school year. He played sparingly in his first game at Arkansas, but was named the starting quarterback by the second game of the season and achieved a record of 8-0 as a true freshman starter.

Since junior high school, Mustain has accumulated a record of 61-2 (.968) as a starting quarterback (9-1 in eighth grade in 2001, 9-0 in both ninth grade in 2002 and 10th grade in 2003, 12-1 in 11th grade in 2004, 14-0 in 12th grade in 2005 and 8-0 as a freshman at Arkansas in 2006).

Contents
1 High school career
2 College career
2.1 University of Arkansas (2006-2007)
2.1.1 True freshman starter
2.1.2 Change in status
2.1.3 Transfer from Arkansas
2.2 University of Southern California (2007-present)
3 References
4 Further reading
5 External links



High school career
By the time he left Southwest Junior High School, Mustain was already the object of high expectations; however he did not start for the Springdale High School varsity team until late in his sophomore season.[1]

In 2004 as a junior, Mustain was 139-of-222 for 2,169 yards and 20 touchdowns as Springdale posted a 12-1 record and reached the Arkansas Class 5A semifinals. He threw only five interceptions in 222 attempts and rushed for 350 yards and 14 touchdowns.

In 2005 as a senior, Mustain threw for 3,817 yards (an Arkansas Class 5A single season record) and 47 touchdowns and completed 69.3 percent of his pass attempts. Springdale went undefeated with a record of 14-0 and won the Arkansas Class 5A state title, including three wins over nationally-ranked opponents and a No. 2 ranking in one national poll.

On January 7, 2006, Mustain was the starting quarterback for the West team in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas, where he was awarded the Hall Trophy National High School Player of the Year.

Parade magazine named him High School Player of the Year in its January 1, 2006 issue. He was then named Mr. Football in Arkansas by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He was also named the 2005-06 Gatorade National Football Player of the Year and the 2005 USA Today National Player of the Year, the first-ever from the state of Arkansas. Scout.com ranked him as the top high school recruit for the class of 2006.[2] Mustain had told reporters he planned to play for either Notre Dame, Tennessee, Alabama or his home-state Arkansas Razorbacks.

In recognition of being presented the Gatorade National Football Player of the Year award, Springdale Mayor Jerre Van Hoose presided over a ceremony declaring December 6, 2005 to be "Mitch Mustain Day" in the city of Springdale.[3]

In December 2005, Gus Malzahn, Mustain's coach at Springdale, was hired to be the new offensive coordinator at the University of Arkansas; this was widely taken to signal the Razorbacks willingness to shift their offense to adapt to Mustain's style of play.[4] The hiring enabled the Razorbacks to recruit the highly-touted quarterback.[5] On January 16, 2006, Mustain informed Malzahn of his decision to commit to Arkansas.[6]


College career

University of Arkansas (2006-2007)

True freshman starter
Mustain enrolled at the University of Arkansas on July 10, 2006 and, in his first game on September 2, 2006, replaced starting quarterback Robert Johnson in the fourth quarter of an eventual 50-14 loss to the USC Trojans. He immediately put together an 80 yard touchdown drive against the Trojan defense. The following day, Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt named Mustain as the starting quarterback for the next game against Utah State, moving Johnson to wide receiver.

Mustain accumulated a record of 8-0 as a true freshman starter, including a 27-10 win on the road over the No. 2 ranked Auburn Tigers on October 7, 2006[7], helping guide the Razorbacks to 11th in the college football rankings.[8] The offense was oriented around what was considered among the nation's best running back tandems, Darren McFadden (who would be the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy) and Felix Jones; as a result, Mustain's statistics did not match his high school numbers in a more pass-oriented offense.[1]


Change in status
A turning point occurred on November 4, 2006 in No. 11 Arkansas' 26-20 win over South Carolina, when Mustain was relieved after one series by sophomore Casey Dick, who led the Razorbacks for 228 yards and a touchdown.[8] The day after the game, Dick was named the starting quarterback for an upcoming game against No. 13 Tennessee, with Coach Nutt citing "experience" as the primary reason for the change.[8]

Mustain did not play in the next three games and entered for one series in the final game of the regular season, the SEC Championship game, on December 2, 2006, against the Florida Gators.[9]

On December 20, 2006, Nutt announced that Dick would start for the Razorbacks in the January 1, 2007 Capital One Bowl against the Wisconsin Badgers; however, he stated that Mustain would also enter the game in the third series.[10][11] The game resulted in a 17-14 defeat for Arkansas.

Mustain finished the season with 894 yards passing, completing 69 out of 132 passes with 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions.[12]


Transfer from Arkansas
On January 15, 2007, Gus Malzahn, the offensive coordinator and Mustain's former high school coach, announced he was leaving the Razorbacks to join the University of Tulsa.[13] The day after Malzahn's announcement, January 16, 2007, Mustain requested permission to transfer to another university and it was, subsequently, granted by Coach Nutt.[14] The announcement was a year to the day after Mustain had initially announced his decision to sign with the Razorbacks out of high school.[5]


University of Southern California (2007-present)
Mustain enrolled at the University of Southern California (USC) on May 21, 2007.[15] He joined his former Springdale High School and Arkansas teammate, Damian Williams, who had transferred to USC the previous January.

Under NCAA transfer rules, Mustain will sit out the 2007 season and will be eligible to begin playing in the 2008 season, when he will have three years of eligibility remaining.


References
Final game summed up coach in a Nutt-shell
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Posted: November 27, 2007
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) -- An unranked Arkansas team that struggled to meet expectations upset top-ranked LSU in triple overtime.

For Houston Nutt, this was par for the course.


During a 10-year run as Arkansas' coach, Nutt helped the Razorbacks become respectable in the Southeastern Conference, but his program could never settle in among the nation's elite. Instead, the Hogs were something of a curiosity. They were never all that consistent, but they could beat anyone on a given day -- often in unusual fashion.

Life was seldom dull in Fayetteville with Nutt around. He approached the job with enthusiasm, and his 8-0 start his first season raised expectations immediately.

"Houston is a great teacher, and he's a great motivator," Frank Broyles said Monday night. "That's all coaching is -- is teaching and motivating."

Nutt's ability to motivate was apparent this season, when the Razorbacks rallied from an 0-3 SEC start to finish 4-4 in conference play. The win over LSU was indicative of Arkansas' ability to play as hard -- and as long -- as need be against a top opponent.

During Nutt's tenure, Arkansas played some of college football's longest games. The Razorbacks won in seven overtimes against Ole Miss in 2001 and Kentucky in 2003. They lost to Tennessee in six overtimes in 2002 -- and of course, beat LSU in three OTs last week.

Nutt was hired by Ole Miss almost immediately after leaving Arkansas. He'll stay in the SEC, which may surprise some Arkansas fans who felt him unworthy of the Razorbacks' job.

Nutt still has a lot to prove, however. His Arkansas teams were known for running the ball, especially recently with Darren McFadden and Felix Jones in the backfield. Passing hasn't been the Razorbacks' strong suit -- ironic since Nutt himself was once a quarterback for the Hogs.

When Nutt took over, he inherited Clint Stoerner at quarterback for 1998 and 1999. Since Stoerner left, Arkansas has had only one 2,000-yard passer.

Although Broyles says coaching is about teaching and motivating, Nutt's game management came under scrutiny. Gus Malzahn was hired as offensive coordinator in December 2005 to take over play calling. That partnership lasted one year before Malzahn left for Tulsa. David Lee is now the Razorbacks' current offensive coordinator.

Nutt also signed Mitch Mustain, a star high school quarterback from Arkansas. Mustain played in 2006, then transferred. A friend of Nutt's family sent a harsh e-mail to Mustain shortly before he transferred.

Whether Nutt was at fault for some, all or none of the recent drama, it happened on his watch.

"If I offended anyone, if I hurt anyone, I'm sorry for that," Nutt said during his farewell news conference.

Nutt was under pressure even before the 2006 season. Arkansas had posted losing records in '04 and '05. The Razorbacks went 10-4 in '06, but the departures of Malzahn and Mustain and the accompanying controversy fractured the fan base. About the only chance Nutt had for vindication was to win big this year with McFadden, a Heisman trophy candidate.

Instead, the Razorbacks stumbled early, and by the time they recovered, Nutt had reached a point of no return.

"This is why this change, as much as I hate a lot of it, this is why it's right," Nutt said. "It's the right thing to do."

On the field, the 2007 season wasn't much different then the rest of Nutt's tenure. The Razorbacks will go to a bowl, perhaps even a New Year's Day bowl, but they were unranked for most of the season. They ran the ball a lot better than they threw it.

They weren't good enough to contend for the SEC title, but on that one remarkable day against LSU ...

During Nutt's last Sunday news conference, he said he'd spoken with former Arkansas player Jimmy Johnson after the LSU game.

"Boy once a Razorback, always a Razorback. He was so proud," Nutt said. "And by the way, Jimmy Johnson says he's not coming to take this job -- it's too tough!"

As usual, Nutt's words will be interpreted different ways by different people. There wasn't any animosity in his tone -- but playfully or not, he was practically daring the state of Arkansas to find a coach better than him.

Whether the Razorbacks do will go a long way toward determining Nutt's legacy. Arkansas hosts Ole Miss on Oct. 25 next year.