Backfield bonanza: USC stacked at RB, enjoying the Booty
LOS ANGELES -- The sun is shining. The birds are chirping. The coeds are, um, parading.
Just another day in Southern California paradise which, of course, begs the question: Why would any quarterback or tailback in his right mind come here?
Except, of course, for the parade.
To say the depth chart at those positions is stocked for the preseason No. 1 is to say it's quite a show on the quad on this warm spring day. Which it is. That's when the question hits Pete Carroll. Why would another possible super talent want to come here just to battle for playing time?
"I didn't want to hear it that way," USC's coach said.
The truth hurts, even if it reflects the excellence of the best recruiter in the country. The Trojans completed spring practice Saturday ready to welcome 10 scholarship running backs in the fall. The quarterback situation might be similarly crowded, especially if you're Mitch Mustain.
Mustain is the former Arkansas quarterback considering transferring to USC. If he comes, he'll sit out watching senior John David Booty chase a Heisman, Pac-10 title and national championship in 2007. When Mustain becomes eligible in 2008, current sophomore Mark Sanchez will have two years left and incoming freshman Aaron Corp will have three.
That's not considering the four other quarterbacks on the roster and the fact that Carroll is going to recruit before Mustain would take his first snap.
That is considering the seven Heismans in Heritage Hall, with three of the trophy owners currently starring in the NFL.
"I think you come here for all the obvious reasons," Carroll said. "This is the best program in America for quarterbacks and tailbacks."
That recruiting pitch is brought to you by the University of Southern California. There are only 118 other jealous I-A programs that would gladly take some of that excess talent off Carroll's hands.
The post-spring depth chart at tailback almost flaunted Carroll's football bling.
Washington, a rising senior, led the team in rushing in 2006 after being academically ineligible the previous two seasons.
Moody finished behind Washington as the No. 2 rusher as a freshman.
Gable, another freshman, was third in rushing while also returning kicks.
Dennis is petitioning for a sixth year of eligibility after missing the past two seasons with knee injuries.
Reed is trying to move into the rotation after shredding his ACL at Notre Dame in 2005. The injury was so heinous that Reed suffered nerve damage to his foot that caused him to play with a brace.
At any given time, Gable, Washington or Dennis were the talk of the spring.
If everything went into the dumper, Reed and Dennis -- supposedly damaged goods -- would be among the top 15 tailback tandems in the country.
"Wow, I can't even describe it," Reed said. "It's going to be ridiculous how many guys we have."
All that is considered before the arrival in the fall of freshmen Joe McKnight, largely regarded as the best high school player in the country, and Marc Tyler, son of former UCLA great Wendell Tyler.
What? Now the sons of Bruins are coming to Troy just to get in line?
"The recruits that come in, we tell them the truth. We tell them what it's going to be like when they get here," said Reed, who reminded me that he won national championships in his first two seasons in 2003 and 2004.
"Depth," Carroll said, "isn't going to be a problem for us."
Anywhere. Ten starters are back on defense. The loss of NFL prospects Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith at receiver is merely seen as the next All-America opportunity for sophomores Patrick Turner and Vidal Hazelton.
John David Booty is one of those who came in willing to wait, believing he could conquer the world. Sure, the roster was stacked, but he didn't count on injuries and Matt Leinart coming back for his senior season.
John David Booty roomed with -- and played behind -- Leinart, until getting his shot last season in his fourth year on campus. That after suffering a herniated disc a year ago.
Leinart himself backed up Carson Palmer during Palmer's Heisman season in 2002. Two seasons later Leinart won the award himself. Is John David Booty next in line?
"This is definitely the system to be in if you get your chance," John David Booty said.
Offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian cracked the playing time code for us. Freshmen aren't thrown into the pool and told to swim. Their strengths are identified on the practice field and used in spots during games.
"If you're a freshman receiver and you know how to run slants, we're going to put you out there and let you run slant routes," he said. "If you're a good-catching fullback, we're going to put you out there as a fullback to catch the ball. In the meantime, you get better at areas you might not be good at."
In the post-Bush era, the freshman tailbacks in 2006 (Allen Bradford, Stafon Johnson, Gable and Moody) weren't quite as spectacular, or as secure with the ball, or as productive. Each ended the spring on the sidelines injured, although none seriously.
There's no hiding the fact that the coaches expect McKnight to be the next Reggie Bush.
"Joe is the closest thing we've seen to Reggie since Reggie," Sarkisian said. "I think he saw what our offense was missing. In terms of Reggie, he saw where he fit."
Here's one man's assessment of how it will shake out:
Running backs
Washington (6-feet, 220, 744 yards in '06) will emerge as the starting tailback but one of the sophomores, probably Gable (6-1, 190, 434 yards), will be right behind because he also returns kicks. Moody (6-1, 195, 454 yards) will get a lot of time, too.
Assuming Dennis (5-11, 200, 109 yards in '04) gets his sixth year, it's going to be hard to deny him and Reed (5-9, 180, 12 yards). Reed is wearing a 15-pound knee brace but produced one of the brighter moments of the spring last week when he broke free on a screen for a 43-yard touchdown.
Dennis was good enough to start all of the 2003 season before the injuries set in. He says his twice-repaired knee is stronger than ever.
Look for McKnight to get into the mix in spots depending on his strengths. That's exactly how Bush started his career. If he's great early, he'll start. If not, there will be no pressure on him.
Carroll prefers a breakaway tailback to go along with a fullback who can block, run and catch. The staff loves redshirt freshman fullback Stanley Havili, who broke his leg last year.
"That is classically illustrated by Reggie and LenDale White," Carroll said. "We like that thunder-and-lightning thing. They were hugely productive. If it takes two or three guys to get that done, we'll figure it out."
That means limited playing time, position switches or transfers (maybe across town to UCLA, which has tailback issues) for the rest of the depth chart.
Quarterbacks
Sarkisian says John David Booty will be better now with strong legs underneath him after back surgery in March 2006.
"He doesn't have an opportunity to lift or run or get his body physically prepared," Sarkisian said. "As the year wore on you could see his body, his explosiveness, was not there."
With a month to heal and train, John David Booty came back and tied the Rose Bowl record with four touchdowns against Michigan. He'll be on several preseason All-American lists.
Sanchez is the poster child for Carroll's recruiting ability. He redshirted in 2005, threw only seven passes last year and will play behind John David Booty this season. That leaves two years, at the most, for him to start.
If Mustain comes in for 2008, he will be battling Sanchez and probably Aaron Corp for the starting job.
If he doesn't, Mustain can enjoy the parad
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