Elite 11 UPDATE!

Any concerns readers might have about Ryan Mallet's Elite 11 performances should begone. Mallet is camp champion, having defeated Logan Gray, Tyrod Taylor, and counselor Jordan Palmer to win the... er... "2006 Elite 11 EA SPORTS NCAA 2007 tournament title". No doubt this portends great things for the young man, even if he did play with Florida State as his team of choice.

Of note are Mallet's constant trash talking and late heroics against Ohio State:

Taylor and Mallett squared off for the right to face Palmer in the tournament finals, and after battling through a scoreless first quarter before Mallett scored on an Xavier Lee (Florida State) touchdown pass with 1:28 left in the half. Taylor, boosted perhaps by his personal cheerleader Rontrell Bailey, battled through Mallett's constant chatter and mounted a drive at the end of the first half, but was stopped on the one-yard line with seven seconds left and time expired as Taylor had already used his three timeouts.

Taylor took the second half kickoff and needed little time to makeup for the mistake at the end of the first half, as a Troy Smith to Ted Ginn 77-yard touchdown pass 14 seconds into the third quarter tied the score. The scoring continued in the quarter, as Mallett answered with a drive but Taylor's big play ability came out again with another 65-yard Troy Smith TD pass to knot it at 14 at the end of three.

Taylor stopped Mallett on downs early in the fourth quarter, but after a Taylor turnover Mallett converted a fourth down and moved deep and worked the clock to take a 17-14 lead with one second left on a 20-yard field goal, advancing to the finals to face off against Palmer.

The man knows how to boringly grind out a game: he is a perfect fit for the Michigan offense. Those interested in Mallet thanking God for his thumbs can see the teary acceptance speech here.