Arkansas celebrates Mustain's decision

~ The home-grown quarterback officially will sign with the Razorbacks today.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- The hoopla has died down a bit. The state can breathe easy. Mitch Mustain decided to stay home for school.

Mustain, one of the nation's top high school quarterbacks, plans to attend Arkansas. Now, of course, comes the hard part for the Razorbacks' would-be savior -- handling the pressure from thousands of success-starved fans.

"They're going to expect a lot out of me," Mustain said this week. "At the same time, they've got to realize, it's a new game for me, too."

Mustain is expected to sign with Arkansas today, the first day -- and by far the busiest -- of the national signing period.

When Mustain makes it official, it will formally end a recruiting saga that has captivated the region for months. Mustain played high school football at Springdale, about 20 minutes from Arkansas' campus in Fayetteville. He initially committed to the Razorbacks in August, then said in early December he was considering other schools.

Finally, two weeks ago, Mustain announced he would play for Houston Nutt at Arkansas, choosing the Razorbacks over Notre Dame, Tennessee and Alabama.

Mustain's decision could hardly have come at a better time for Nutt. Arkansas went 4-7 in 2005, missing the postseason for the second straight year after going to a bowl each of Nutt's first six seasons.

Nutt didn't mention Mustain by name -- NCAA rules prevent coaches from talking about a specific recruit before he signs a letter of intent. But there's no denying the Arkansas coach is excited about his class.

"To have the No. 1 player come out of your own state, you really need him," Nutt said. "You really need him to go to your school -- and so that was huge."

Mustain is actually ranked No. 3 among overall recruits by College Sports Television recruiting expert Tom Lemming and No. 10 by Rivals.com. But that's of little consequence to Arkansas fans, many of whom have seen first hand what Mustain can do.

Springdale had one of the most dominant seasons in state history in 2005, going 14-0 and outscoring its opponents 664-118.

Mustain, who was already earning national attention before the season began, lived up to the hype. He completed a state-record 70.4 percent of his passes in 2005, throwing for 3,817 yards and 47 touchdowns. Mustain won the Gatorade national player of the year award and Parade Magazine player of the year.

Less than a week after Springdale won the state title, reports surfaced that Mustain might be reconsidering his commitment -- and the pressure on Nutt and the Razorbacks increased again.