Parental Disillusionment

Anyone who coaches youth sports as I have in the past will always come across those over-zealous parents whose illusions of their child’s athletic ability is totally unrealistic. It’s created such a mess that there are rules on parent behavior during little league games. Perhaps the NCAA should look into that as well because Arkansas Head Football Coach Houston Nutt is involved in his own version of Little League Parents Gone Bad.

You see Arkansas heralded recruits from Springdale, Mitch Mustain, Ben Cleveland and Damian Williams, were not happy with the way the offense has been run this season. Never mind their head coach from High School, Gus Malzahn, is the offensive coordinator. And forget the fact that the trio started as true freshman and contributed to a team that finished 10 and 3, won the SEC West and went to the SEC Championship Game. So the parents of the Springdale trio met with The Grand Pooh–Bah, Arkansas’ 81-year-old Athletic Director Frank Broyles complaining that the pass happy spread offense wasn’t implemented this year and will it be in the future. Broyles told the “concerned” parents the Nutt was in charge and the matter should be taken up with the head coach. That obviously didn’t satisfy Damian Williams, who asked and received his release and is transferring to another school.

The bottom line in all this is jealousy. Darren McFadden is arguably the best player in college football and is the Heisman front-runner for 2007. Felix Jones is probably the second best running back in the SEC behind D–Mac and right now Casey Dick is a better quarterback that Mitch Mustain. When you have that kind of talent you don’t ignore it. But the Springdale Kids thought after winning the 5A State Title in Arkansas last year that they would next conquer the SEC. The Hogs almost did but not they way they expected so they went to mommy and daddy to make it better.

QB Mitch Mustain (courtesy Sporting News)

The one player that has been humbled in this is Mitch Mustain. A book will be released authored by a long time prep writer in Springdale chronicling the Bulldogs’ 2005 season. In that book Mustain is quoted about his dislike of the Hogs offense and Coach Nutt. This lead to a players-only meeting in which Sam Olajubutu, Arkansas’s tough as nails linebacker, confronted Mustain over his comments. Reportedly, Mustain took it and apologized to Coach Nutt as well.

Even Gus Malzahn recognized when you have McFadden and Jones you don’t throw the ball all the time.

I just hope the Hogs kiss and make up and take care of Wisconsin New Years Day.

That’s It, I’m Spent.

--John Wilkerson