When Arkansas’ Houston Nutt hired high school coach Gus Malzahn last week to be his offensive coordinator, it raised eyebrows. Malzahn, 40, certainly has credentials. His Springdale (Ark.) High team went 14-0 and won the state title. He has gone 144-36-1 in 14 years and won four state titles with a no-huddle offense. Still, for a Southeastern Conference program to hand play-calling duties to a rookie college coach is extremely rare. Does it matter that he was hired only days after reports that Mitch Mustain of Springdale, the top-rated quarterback in the nation under Malzahn, was backing away from his oral commitment to Arkansas? Nutt and Malzahn say Nutt first interviewed Malzahn three years ago and has been in regular contact since. “He’s had success everywhere he’s been,” Nutt said of Malzahn. Hmmm.
