Mitch Mustain: A Star-Crossed Career
By: Aaron Nolan
Updated: February 15, 2012
Springdale High School football star Mitch Mustain was destined to be the next great Arkansas Razorback. He was the highest ranked quarterback in the nation during his senior season in 2006, rated above future NFL player Tim Tebow.
In 2006, he signed to play football at the University of Arkansas. Mustain started 8 games, winning all of them, but following a bad pass in a game against South Carolina, he was benched.
From there, things got worse at the U of A. Mustain clashed with coaches, leading him to move west. After one season playing for the Hogs, he transferred to the University of Southern Cal.
He said, "When I left Arkansas I knew what I wanted was a place where every guy at the program was there for one thing, they wanted to play and they wanted to get better, and they wanted a place where they were going to develop that. And USC was that place."
Mustain's time in southern California wasn't a day on the beach. He started just one game in his career at USC. Months after his final game as a Trojan, Mustain found himself behind bars.
"It's made for an interesting year."
He was taking medicine for ADHD
"I decided to stop takin' it. Quit cold and had some leftover decided to get rid of those in the wrong manner," he explained.
In February of 2011, police arrested Mustain for selling prescription medicine, although charges were never filed.
"I do regret it, and I do wish I could go back and change it for what it is."
Mustain wasn't drafted in last year's NFL draft, so he moved back to Northwest Arkansas, and took at a job working for a car dealership in Bentonville to pay the bills.
He said he jobs comes with many things to do, "Moving vehicles and run errands and just kinda do whatever needs to be done."
Mustain has plans bigger than pushing pedals. He's using his jobs as a means to an end, hoping to find his way back to the field.
"I don't want to work a 9 to 5 job, I don't want to get into that, I wanna play ball."
He's developed what he calls a new passion for the pigskin.
"Being away from the game and watching everybody else play, you know, its like a kid sitting in time out, I want nothing more than to get back into it," he told us.
"For the first time in a long time, I just wanna play."
With all of his experience, Mustain still has hopes of playing on Sundays. This spring he will make his pro debut, but not in the National Football League, rather, in the Arena Football League as a member of the Georgia Force. It's a humbling hurdle for this former can't miss NFL prospect.
"When you're 17, 18, I mean, you think you're going to take a straight shot and that's going to be that. Sometimes it doesn't work out like that, and you're going to take the steps you need to."
"I still have hopes to get into the NFL by some route."
Moving ahead, Mustain will keep his eye on the pro's, even if its not the NFL.
"I've kinda always had the itch to get back into baseball, again just to see if I could."
Mustain is looking to pitch, in January he had tryout with a scout from the Chicago White Sox. He says he threw 90 miles per hour.
No matter which route he decides to take, he says he'll do it with high hopes, "The sky is really the limit as to where I can go, and what I can do. So that's exciting for me, and I look forward to getting out and just going for it."
Mustain will head to Georgia on February 16th to begin his pro football career, but he's not sure what's next with baseball.
In 2006, he signed to play football at the University of Arkansas. Mustain started 8 games, winning all of them, but following a bad pass in a game against South Carolina, he was benched.
From there, things got worse at the U of A. Mustain clashed with coaches, leading him to move west. After one season playing for the Hogs, he transferred to the University of Southern Cal.
He said, "When I left Arkansas I knew what I wanted was a place where every guy at the program was there for one thing, they wanted to play and they wanted to get better, and they wanted a place where they were going to develop that. And USC was that place."
Mustain's time in southern California wasn't a day on the beach. He started just one game in his career at USC. Months after his final game as a Trojan, Mustain found himself behind bars.
"It's made for an interesting year."
He was taking medicine for ADHD
"I decided to stop takin' it. Quit cold and had some leftover decided to get rid of those in the wrong manner," he explained.
In February of 2011, police arrested Mustain for selling prescription medicine, although charges were never filed.
"I do regret it, and I do wish I could go back and change it for what it is."
Mustain wasn't drafted in last year's NFL draft, so he moved back to Northwest Arkansas, and took at a job working for a car dealership in Bentonville to pay the bills.
He said he jobs comes with many things to do, "Moving vehicles and run errands and just kinda do whatever needs to be done."
Mustain has plans bigger than pushing pedals. He's using his jobs as a means to an end, hoping to find his way back to the field.
"I don't want to work a 9 to 5 job, I don't want to get into that, I wanna play ball."
He's developed what he calls a new passion for the pigskin.
"Being away from the game and watching everybody else play, you know, its like a kid sitting in time out, I want nothing more than to get back into it," he told us.
"For the first time in a long time, I just wanna play."
With all of his experience, Mustain still has hopes of playing on Sundays. This spring he will make his pro debut, but not in the National Football League, rather, in the Arena Football League as a member of the Georgia Force. It's a humbling hurdle for this former can't miss NFL prospect.
"When you're 17, 18, I mean, you think you're going to take a straight shot and that's going to be that. Sometimes it doesn't work out like that, and you're going to take the steps you need to."
"I still have hopes to get into the NFL by some route."
Moving ahead, Mustain will keep his eye on the pro's, even if its not the NFL.
"I've kinda always had the itch to get back into baseball, again just to see if I could."
Mustain is looking to pitch, in January he had tryout with a scout from the Chicago White Sox. He says he threw 90 miles per hour.
No matter which route he decides to take, he says he'll do it with high hopes, "The sky is really the limit as to where I can go, and what I can do. So that's exciting for me, and I look forward to getting out and just going for it."
Mustain will head to Georgia on February 16th to begin his pro football career, but he's not sure what's next with baseball.
