Mustain's move is good for him
LITTLE ROCK - Note to self: Check on Mitch Mustain next spring.
If the host of Blue's Clues can make use of a "Thinking Chair," surely a decrepit sportswriter can have an Idea Chair - a place to pile things to do. The Mustain note goes there.
Most likely, he will be somewhere behind Mark Sanchez on the USC depth chart. With the Trojans, waiting in line at quarterback is modus operandi.
The most heralded quarterback in the history of Arkansas high school football, Mustain made a good decision to sit tight after his former high school coach, Gus Malzahn, left Arkansas to call plays at Tulsa.
Mustain could have tagged along with Malzahn, but the young man or those around him thought he could do better than a Conference USA school and they were right. Even though Tulsa, Texas-El Paso and Texas Tech were the only schools to formally inquire about Mustain through the Arkansas compliance office, others had to be interested in a quarterback with Mustain's reputation.
For Mustain, the fall will be a redshirt year - he'll practice and learn during the week and watch and learn some more during the weekend. Eyes wide open, he should have no problem with such a plan. After Notre Dame put him in a bind and he re-committed to Arkansas, Mustain said he would be comfortable with a redshirt year. He was told he would play only if he was the best quarterback, but he started the second game of the year. Depending on who is doing the telling, the impetus was Casey Dick's back injury or ticket sales.
No matter. All of that is history and somebody named Jersey Rick has it right.
Tacked onto the bottom of "Mustain Decides to Transfer to USC" in The Morning News, the previously mentioned reader wrote: "Good luck Mitch. Go Hogs!"
In Los Angeles, Mustain will not be part of the everyday Razorback picture and that's a good thing for all concerned. If he had gone to Tulsa, there would have been Mustain-this or Mustain-that regularly.
Looking ahead, Mustain will have a first-hand view of a Heisman Trophy candidate in action. More importantly, he will see a quarterback who was on the hurry-up-and-wait track.
John David Booty graduated from Evangel Christian High School in Shreveport a year early to enroll at USC and he was USC's No. 2 quarterback by mid-season. He was going to be behind Matt Leinart - the Heisman winner - in 2004, but suffered a badly bruised right elbow during fall practice and was redshirted. As a sophomore, John David Booty was still looking at the backside of Leinart. Last year, he got his chance and completed 62 percent of his 436 passes for 3,347 yards for 29 touchdowns with nine interceptions.
No wonder John David Booty and Darren McFadden are the first names mentioned in the 2007 Heisman speculation.
Even after John David Booty departs, there is nothing greased for Mustain.
Already, Mark Sanchez is being touted as the best backup quarterback in the country. The Parade Player of the Year in 2004, the 6-foot-3, 225-pound Sanchez recently completed 11-of-16 for 231 against the USC defense - one of the best in the country. He will be a junior in eligibility in 2008.
Also in line is Aaron Corp, a Parade All-American who will be a freshman in the fall. All he did last year was throw for 2,750 yards and run for 1,197.
Obviously, Mustain is not afraid of a little competition. Good for him.
It is also worth noting that the Trojans have expanded the offense under new coordinator Steve Sarkisian and that there will be some shotgun. Former coordinator Lane Kiffin insisted on the quarterback under center even though John David Booty - like Mustain - was in the shotgun throughout high school.
Even if Mustain never starts, Matt Cassel is an example of the NFL's regard for USC quarterbacks. A backup to Carson Palmer and Leinart, Cassel played in 25 games at USC and averaged slightly more than one pass per game.
Drafted in the seventh round in 2005, Cassel is Tom Brady's backup with the New England Patriots.
[More at www.arkansasnews.com ]
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