Ryan Mallett made friends everywhere he went.
That much was evident Tuesday night in the hours after the public learned of the former Arkansas quarterback’s death. Mallett drowned while in Florida this week. He was 35.
Mallett played at Arkansas in 2009 and 2010 and is the school’s single-season leader in passing touchdowns and yards passing. He’s second on both lists all-time for the Razorbacks.
Tributes and condolences poured in across Twitter. They came from fans who only saw him play from the cheap seats. They came from journalists who covered him up-close. They came from people with whom he went to college. They came from teammates.
They came from people who loved him.