This pretty much sums up my impressions for both Heyward and Mallett.
Mallet took some criticism from Herbstreit this morning on "Mike & Mike" for not "playing well under pressure". It was like criticizing a guy for not being able to get a match lit while standing under Niagara Falls.
The Buckeyes' pressure was nearly instantaneous all night and Mallet did very well to avoid it on numerous occasions, buying enough time to get off at least a marginally catchable pass. When he was given time to throw, he was pretty accurate (even into some fairly decent OSU coverage) and demonstrated more than NFL-adequate arm strength - and then his receivers failed him miserably. Considering the circumstances that Mallet was playing through, I think it's pretty amazing that he didn't throw a pick until there was under a minute left in the game.
What impressed me about Heyward was not just his own pass-rush success, but the way his pressure enabled the guys around him to succeed. Also, he played the run very well for the most part. Overall, I thought he demonstrated skills, technique and awareness that would fit very well in a BB 3-4 DE role. If he follows this performance up with solid Senior Bowl practices and performance, there's no way Heyward makes it to #17 and he may not even make it out of the top ten.
