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sg Speaks: Where Are They (Mitch Mustain) Now?

It’s always fun to stroll down memory lane and remember those people (players, coaches and fans) that have given us such fond memories as Razorback fans. Inevitably, though, after the ol’ “oh yeah, that person was cool,” comes the ever more popular, “I wonder where they are now?” That’s what this column will center on and this week the focus is on Mitch Mustain — starting QB for eight games at the University of Arkansas during the 2006-07 season.

If you don’t recall Mitch Mustain, then I don’t know what rock you lived under. Mustain was easily the state’s best player ever coming out of high school. Among the accolades he received during his senior year:

• Starting quarterback for the West team in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas
• Hall Trophy National High School Player of the Year.
• PARADE High School Player of the Year.
• Mr. Football in Arkansas (by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette).
• 2005-06 Gatorade National Player of the Year
• 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.
• Declaration of December 6, 2005, to be “Mitch Mustain Day” in the city of Springdale, Arkansas.

That’s quite the list of accomplishments, and Mustain was about ready to take those with him to Notre Dame. Somehow, for the Hog Nation, the clouds parted and Houston Nutt somehow landed Mustain, Gus Malzann (Mustain’s High School coach at Springdale) as Offensive Coordinator and three other talented recruits (Damian Williams, Ben Cleveland and Andrew Norman).

The 2006-07 season started with a game against USC, which the Hogs lost 50-14. The important note about that game is that USC dominated the Hogs all game, until Mustain replaced Robert Johnson in the fourth quarter and promptly marched Arkansas down the field 80 yards for a touchdown. Razorback fans were in awe. Not only did we have two of the best running backs in the nation, but now we had a legitimate threat at quarterback.

Even though the offense was centered around DMac and our powerful running game, Mustain started the next eight games and compiled an 8-0 record (including a victory over then No. 2 Auburn).

Things started to crumble on and off the field during “victory” number eight for Mustain. After playing one series against South Carolina (which resulted in an interception), Mustain was yanked in favor of Casey Dick. Arkansas went on to finish the season, 10-4, with Dick as the starting quarterback.

In the weeks/months to come after the South Carolina game, there were reports that some of the parents of the “Springdale Four” had been making calls to Coach Nutt regarding playing time and coaching philosophy. Additionally, there were rumors that Mustain had made some disparaging remarks regarding Nutt in an upcoming book. To top it all off, the big talk was that Nutt had only hired Malzahn to get Mustain to enroll at Arkansas.

Yesh. What a mess.

Following the season ending loss to Wisconsin, things for the Razorbacks and the Springdale Four started to fall apart. Malzahn took an Asst. Coaching job at Tulsa and both Williams and Mustain transferred to USC — which meant that both had to sit out for a year to regain eligibility.

A player with the caliber of Mustain would be offered a scholarship in a heartbeat from any school in the country. And to take a spot on USC’s roster, well, one could argue that you can’t do much better than that. Think of the names of quarterbacks that have recently come out of that school — Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart — not bad company.

While sitting last season out, Mustain led the scout team for USC and was awarded the Service Team Player of the Year (offense) at USC’s annual awards banquet. This year, Mustain found himself in a three-way battle for starting quarterback against redshirt junior Mark Sanchez and redshirt freshman Aaron Corp.

Where is Mustain now?
Riding the pine. That’s right, not only did both Mustain and Corp lost the quarterback race to Sanchez, but Mustain lost the second-string position to Corp.

Let’s think about this situation for a second. Mustain is a sophomore and has three years of eligibility left. Sanchez is a junior and has two. Corp is a freshman and has four. Unless both Sanchez and Corp get hurt this season (08-09), and next (09-10)… AND the next (10-11), then Mustain isn’t going to be seeing much important play time at USC. That’s not even mentioning what incredible QB recruits are in the wings for Pete Carroll.

Mustain could transfer to another school. But, if he transfers to another Division I school, then he will have to sit out ANOTHER year. Without knowing all of the rules, he’d probably lose his sophomore season in the process. He could also transfer to a smaller school, but a kid with that much talent would be lost quickly by not playing for a big name school.

Because of all the drama that came about because of Mustain, Malzahn and Nutt, I can’t help but feel the slightest bit happy that the karma bug seems to have bitten Mustain.

So what will Mustain do? I’d hate to be in his position and play the waiting game at USC. The last time I checked, second- and third-string quarterbacks aren’t being plucked in any rounds of the NFL Draft. Maybe his parents will call Carroll and complain about playing time like they did about Malzahn’s lack of control over the offense with Frank Broyles. But I’m sure that won’t help at all — it sure didn’t the last time.

In any case, I don’t think Mustain is too pleased with his decision to leave Arkansas. Even more so, I’m betting Mustain isn’t happy with choosing Arkansas in the first place when he could have been at Notre Dame. Which sucks to even think that Arkansas recruits would want to leave the state.

But think about this. What if Mustain (and Malzahn, and Williams) had stayed? Another year of experience under his belt, another year with DMac and Jones. The wheels were already coming off the wagon for Nutt, and with a viable attack in the air AND on the ground — folks, we would’ve probably been contending for something bigger than a Cotton Bowl victory. And now, with Petrino in the mix, you think we would’ve struggled against Western Illinois with Mustain at the helm? Bah.

Mustain, I wish you well in your play time endeavors. I’m sure you’ll land somewhere awesome.

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