Those were some fun eras to follow QB recruiting. Mallett was 2007 recruiting class. It was a Texas/Arkansas/Michigan battle. Jevan Snead and Mitch Mustain committed to Texas and Arkansas in the 2006 classes, which really turned Mallett to Michigan. He had no interest in sitting behind a top recruit in the immediate class above. He committed early, never wavered, and enrolled early at Michigan. Shortly after, Mustain and Snead transferred from Arkansas and Texas after their freshmen years.
In Arkansas, there were rumblings right away that Mallett was homesick at Michigan and that he did not love the weather (as mentioned, he enrolled in January). Then it just became the perfect storm for him to return home. Lloyd Carr fired, Rich Rod hired at Michigan. Houston Nutt fired, Bobby Petrino hired at Arkansas. Got to transfer back and play in a pass heavy offense with the starting job wide open.