Arkansas QB Mustain - given transfer papers

[Heath]

There was a side-bar story a while ago where Arkansas Football coach Houston Nutt was being counseled by this kids parents and other Arkansas freshman players' parents' on how to run his program.

This is a mess, IMO. Sucks if you are a Razorback.


Mustain given permission to transfer

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) -- Arkansas quarterback Mitch Mustain, undefeated as a Razorbacks starter after a stellar high school career, has been given permission to transfer to another university, coach Houston Nutt said Tuesday.

The move came one day after offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, Mustain's high school coach, left to become assistant head coach and co-offensive coordinator at Tulsa. Mustain and Malzahn joined the Razorbacks a year ago from Springdale High School.

Nutt appeared to be holding out hope Mustain might decide to stay with the team even after receiving his release.

"I don't know for sure where we are right now," Nutt said.

Mustain was the Parade magazine prep player of the year in 2005.

[WVRed]

Not a Razorbacks fan, but I remember last year when Tennessee tried to get Mustain out of his commitment and Arkansas responded by hiring Mulzahn as offensive coordinator. Of course, this happens in sports all the time, ask Kansas.

When I saw Mulzahn being hired away to Tulsa, I had a feeling a mass exodus would follow. Wonder if Mustain will end up at Tulsa now?

[Heath]

Wonder if Mustain will end up at Tulsa now?

Well, he can kiss any SEC program good-bye - he'd probably fit well actually at Spurrier and South Carolina - but I think he can't get another scholarship in the SEC - that's the Big Ten rule, I know.

I can't see this kid heading to Tulsa. Someone big will make a play for him.

[George Foster]

Why the heck would you leave the Razorbacks, set out a year, to play for Tulsa? This was a Dumb move! Where is this guy going to go? He left a big time program. Arkansas plays a lot, like of national TV. Dumb!

[KronoRed]

Well, he can kiss any SEC program good-bye - he'd probably fit well actually at Spurrier and South Carolina - but I think he can't get another scholarship in the SEC - that's the Big Ten rule, I know.

I can't see this kid heading to Tulsa. Someone big will make a play for him.
Pretty sure in the SEC you can transfer to another conference school but you have to sit out 2 years unless the school you are transferring from waives it.

[flyer85]

Why the heck would you leave the Razorbacks, set out a year, to play for Tulsa? ... because Arkansas is a running team and will remain so. Could be similar to when Aikman left Oklahoma for UCLA.

[KoryMac5]

It was a no win situation from the start for all parties involved. The offensive coordinator was never going to be given a chance to run his no-huddle offense and Arkansas was too talented of a running team. Sometimes all the pieces don't fit well together and you had better cut your losses before things get real bad.

[KYRedsFan]

Can't blame him for getting out of there. He's auditioning for an NFL job, and you gotta go where you're going to be in the best situation. Cough, UofL, cough!

[WMR]

Even if they're a running team right now, how much of a pay-cut would one endure going from offensive coordinator at a big-time SEC program to a co-offensive coordinator at a smaller school like Tulsa???

[HotCorner]

I hear the Bearcats are going to the spread offense! ;)

[Edskin]

For those that care.... reports around here are that Mustain will most likely transfer to Tulsa, but he and family were actually in Norman today visiting with OU. Since Rhett Bomar was dismissed from the team in August, the Sooners really don't have a "QB of the future" at this point. It makes some sense. We'll see.

[KYRedsFan]

Was going to actually ask you Ed. Know you are a big Tulsa follower. Kragthorpe from what I hear was well thought of in Tulsa, you have any opinion, as he's coaching at my alma mater now, UofL.

[Edskin]

KY-- For the record, I'm actually a Sooner (OU that is). I did follow Tulsa hoops quite closely when I lived there though, but I am now back to having season hoops tickets for my "real" school :) (in OKC now).

Anyway, to answer your question, I think Kragthorpe is the real deal. I think the best thing about him was his pro pedigree-- he spent several years as a QB coach in the NFL. That seemed to give him a real insight into how to run an high-tech sort of offense.

For those of you that don't know, Tulsa is about as hard a place to win as there is in college football. It's a city campus, no real campus-life, and many students commute. The sports scene in the state is totally dominated by OU and OSU-- TU is a distant third behind those two, and honestly, is probably 4th or 5th behind Arkansas and Texas. The facilities for football are laughable-- I'm not sure how Kragthorpe got ANY decent recruits to go there, but he did. He made an immediate and swift improvement from the previous regime which had taken a bad program and turned it awful.

SK also has a good personal reputation. He did do the standard "coach lie" and make it seem like Tulsa was his ultimate dream job, but he did have chances to bolt the past few years and he did wait it out-- he didn't jump at the first offer at least.

His reputation throughout the area is one of respect both on and off the field. I think UL did a good job hiring him. The only real "question" I have is whether or not SK was simply a low-key kind of guy that was able to function and motivate best on a really small level--- but I have no real reason to think that, just a thought.