SPORTSCRACK

RYAN MALLETT PLANNING TO TRANSFER
According to ToledoBlade.com new Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez might have already lost his best returning offensive player. Freshman QB Ryan Mallett is apparently looking elsewhere with the hot rumor leading him to Rick Neuheisel and UCLA...

There is speculation out of Ann Arbor that freshman quarterback Ryan Mallett has decided to leave Michigan and will transfer to UCLA, according to a person close to the team.

Michigan associate athletic director Bruce Madej said no paperwork has come across his desk regarding Mallett's transfer and that as far as he knows, Mallett is still enrolled at Michigan.

"He came back with us, so I just saw him yesterday," Madej said. "He was talking with the guys about seeing them next week."

Mallett told The Blade on Dec. 26 during the team's preparations for the Capital One Bowl in Orlando that he wanted to remain a Wolverine next season.

Retired Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said Wednesday he was aware of Mallett's decision but would leave it up to him to make the announcement.

"What I hope is Ryan Mallett stays at Michigan," Carr said Wednesday before boarding a team bus at Orlando's Peabody Hotel. "Because I think potentially he can be one of the great quarterbacks that's come along. He's matured dramatically in the last two or three months."

In a fill-in role for oft-injured quarterback Chad Henne, Mallett started three games this season for the Wolverines and appeared in eight others, throwing for 892 yards with seven touchdowns and five interceptions. He was 3-0 in his starts against Notre Dame, Penn State and Minnesota.

Mallett seems like an odd fit for Rodriguez's spread offense attack so it should come as no surprise he is looking elsewhere. It's an unfortunate situation because Mallett has the skills and fortitude to be a great QB in the future and would be a big loss for the Wolverine program and all the lovely Ann Arbor poon. If Mallett decides to leave Michigan it is presumed by many Wolverine fans that #1 recruit QB Terrelle Pryor will be wearing the Maize and Blue next season. Unfortunately for UM fans that seems far fetched since Pryor seems to be a heavy lean to arch rival Ohio State and has been seen budding it up this week with some Buckeye commits such as OL Mike Adams at the US Army All-American practices. If Rodriguez loses both Mallett and doesn't secure Pryor this could be a real short term marriage with Britney Spears like nastiness ensuing in Ann Arbor.

Meanwhile in West Virginia people laugh as they celebrate their Fiesta Bowl victory and salivate at the chance of watching another full season of Pat White and Noel Devine in the same backfield.