By Adam Abramson
This week we're going to look at five of the biggest quarterback controversies heading into 2008.
And let's make perfect sense by starting with "Tailback U."
That's not a fitting name for Southern California anymore. It needs to be something like "NFL Studs at Every Position Factory Because Pete Carroll Rules at Recruiting."
Under Carroll's watch guys like Justin Fargas, Reggie Bush and LenDale White toted the rock out of the backfield, and last week we took a look at what's on his depth chart now. But his seven years there have been marked by the play of his three quarterbacks - two of whom won the Heisman Trophy.
Think about it: Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart and John David Booty have been the trio that have carried the torch in Pete Carroll's time in Los Angeles. That's absurd.
But David Booty, who didn't exactly put up the season everyone expected (Rose Bowl victory just wasn't enough, ha), is out and we're left to guess who will be the next phenomenal Trojan field general.
Will it be Mark Sanchez or Mitch Mustain?
Sanchez, heading into his junior year, came out of high school ranked the No. 1 QB prospect in the country. It was all but certain that Sanchez would be the incumbent for Booty after this season. At 6'4, 215 pounds, Sanchez comes with the cannon arm and the ability to move around in the pocket. Some of his biggest praise coming out of high school was his maturity and poise on the field.
Sanchez did have a brush with the law when he got onto campus, but nothing to jeopardize his future with the team. Everything was still as planned until Houston Nutt and Mitch Mustain had an epic tiff in Fayetteville.
Mustain, also a No. 1 QB prospect in the country (actually ranked higher than Tim Tebow), stayed in his home state and won his first eight games as a true freshman starter at Arkansas before losing his job to Casey Dick. His first drive actually came agianst USC, in the video to the right. It's about four minutes, but worth watching.
After the season, Mustain bolted from Arkansas and landed in Southern California and left everyone, including Mark Sanchez, wondering "What did Coach Carroll say to Mustain?"
Mustain will be a redshirt sophomore this year. If Sanchez is USC's next starting quarterback, Mustain will likely have just one season to call the shots from the position - something I'm sure he wouldn't have signed up for going in…
So we're left with a battle of No. 1 QBs. Mustain, 8-0 as a starter, looked very much like a freshman at times in 2006. He did spend this year running the scout team against USC's outstanding defense, so I can't imagine the rust is that thick on the outer shell.
Sanchez stepped in when Booty suffered an injury this year and went 2-1 as a starter, completing 60% of his passes in those games with seven touchdowns and four interceptions. The video features four of his tosses that came in a 38-0 win over Notre Dame (the run by Vidal Hazelton on the fourth touchdown makes this worth watching).
The resumes look very much alike and someone is going to be left highly disappointed. But you have to believe that Carroll will play the better quarterback of the two, so you can't feel bad for the guy not on the field.
I'm going to put my chips on Mustain for a few reasons. I think he has a ton of talent and is going to wow everyone come spring practice. From what I read and hear, a lot of the USC fans are split on Sanchez. Mustain's situation ended so poorly in Arkansas and he took a lot of heat in the media, so it wouldn't surprise me to see him on a mission to turn his ship around and make schools like Louisville and Oklahoma wish they would have given him an opportunity (although with Sam Bradford at OU, things seem just fine).
But if Mustain loses the starting job, you gotta wonder if he'll regret not heading to Tulsa to run an offense that was ranked No. 1 in the country this year…
Other 2008 Quarterback Controversies
Monday - Southern California
Tuesday - Virginia Tech
Wednesday - Penn State
Thursday - Alabama
Friday - Michigan (unless I'm convinced to examine another school)
Comments (3)
Adam
Nice write up. I agree that its probably going to be Mustain's to lose.
Any chance Penn State is going to be one of the five QB battles you do?
Adam,
I've been very interested in this situation and this helps shine a little on it. As an Arkansas fan, I saw Mustain's freshman year and would like to share something many people
While Mustain did go 8-0 as a starter, he didn't play the entire game during those wins. Casey Dick took over for a lot of those games and at the end of the season had a better pass completion percentage than Mustain (Dick's 53% to Mustain's 51%).
The second point is that he didn't get along well with the rest of the team. 2006 team captain, LB Sam Olajabuto (sorry about the spelling) actually picked Mustain up by the collar and slammed him against a locker in the locker room.
Maybe I'm bias because he left, but I think stats can only go so far. He's going to have to show me a lot more on the field to prove he's as good as he's hyped to be.
Great article.
Cash -- Thanks for the insight. I imagine things didn't go well in Arkansas, considering the fallout. So, assuming this is true, I'm not surprised. We'll see if he's matured any out in Cali...thanks for reading and sharing.