Michigan-Notre Dame: Ryan Mallett Takes His First Shot

When Ryan Mallett committed to the University of Michigan in the summer of 2006, Wolverine fans could hardly contain their excitement.

They envisioned three, maybe four, seasons of the 6'7", 230-pound signal caller running a deadly offense up and down the field.

Big, confident, and competitive, Mallett is supposed to make fans of the Maize and Blue forget about that Tom Brady guy.

The high school stories are legendary. Mallett once threw an 87-yard pass...and dislocated one of his teammates’ fingers with a throw...and fired a 71-yard touchdown pass as a freshman in the state playoffs...and was compared to the likes of Peyton Manning and Carson Palmer during the recruiting process.

He has a perfect pigskin pedigree, a thorough understanding of the game, and a cannon arm.

All told, he's the perfect guy to replace Chad Henne next season.

He's just not supposed to be starting now.

A mysterious knee injury to Henne threw Mallett into the proverbial fire against Oregon last week. The true freshman played the entire second half and performed decently—especially considering that Michigan was down by nearly four touchdowns at the time.

Mallett had time to show off his arm in his brief stint, throwing one pass 65 yards in the air (Mario Manningham, dropped it) and firing countless other darts that bounced off the hands of his receivers. One of those deflections was intercepted.

Mallett also demonstrated the true freshman inside him, missing throws, forcing passes, staring down receivers, and generally looking confused and altogether disoriented at times.  

When head coach Lloyd Carr named Mallett as the starter for Saturday, his teammates were justifiably quick to dismiss last week’s appearance and acknowledge this week’s game against Notre Dame as his first real test.

“I think Ryan can get the job done,” said running back and team captain Mike Hart. “Obviously, the game plan we had [against Oregon] was fostered toward Chad, so it’s a lot more complicated stuff. You can’t expect a freshman to come in and do what Chad does. It’s not going to happen. The coaches are going to do their job, they know what they have to do [to prepare].”        

Mallet's role has only added to the intrigue (most of it negative) surrounding the historical matchup between Michigan and Notre Dame.

The teams are facing each other with 0-2 records for the first time even, and they are both unranked entering the contest for the first time since the polls came into existence.

There's also the controversy surrounding Hart and his guarantee of a Michigan victory. Expect quite a few copies of that quote to find their way onto the walls of the visitor’s locker room at Michigan Stadium on Saturday.

And as if one true freshman quarterback weren't enough, enter Jimmy Clausen—the newest member of the Godhead at the University Of Notre Dame (joining offensive mastermind Charlie Weis, of course).

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