Mustain transfer official, joins Williams at USC
The divorce has been all but finalized between the UA and former starting quarterback and high profile recruit Mitch Mustain, after Mustain's decision to transfer to Southern California was announced last Wednesday.
Mustain, once thought to be Arkansas' "quarterback of the future," will join former Razorback and high school teammate Damian Williams at USC, who transferred in January.
The 2005 Gatorade and Parade Magazine Prep Player of the Year announced his decision to transfer on January 16, the day after UA offensive coordinator Guz Malzahn accepted a position with the University of Tulsa.
Under NCAA transfer rules, Mustain and Williams will both have to sit out a full season and won't be eligible to play until 2008.
Mustain visited USC once in January and again April 7 when he was in attendance for the Trojans' spring scrimmage.
The pending transfer will be finalized after USC sends a transfer release to Arkansas, in which the UA will confirm that Mustain is in good academic standing.
After replacing Robert Johnson at quarterback in the Hogs' opening game in 2006 at home against USC, Mustain led an 80-yard drive late in the game capped by his 4-yard touchdown run.
Despite compiling an 8-0 record as a starter, Mustain was replaced by Casey Dick later in the season, seeing minimal playing time over the team's last five games.
Mustain finished the year with 894 passing yards, completing 52 percent of his passes with 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
The transfer puts plenty of distance between Arkansas and the former Springdale quarterback, who was only formally inquired about by Tulsa, Texas Tech and Texas-El Paso.
The Trojans' 2007 starting quarterback John David Booty is an early Heisman candidate, along with Razorback tailback Darren McFadden. John David Booty, a senior, threw for 3,347 yards, 29 touchdowns and nine interceptions last year.
After a 50-14 blowout win in Fayetteville to open the season, USC finished with an 11-2 record and a 32-18 victory against Michigan in the Rose Bowl.
In 2008, Mustain will have to compete for the starting job with 2004 Parade Player of the Year Mark Sanchez, who will have two years of eligibility left.
Sanchez, who has been called the best backup quarterback in the country, threw for 194 yards in the Trojan Huddle spring game.
Quarterback Aaron Corp will be in the mix as a freshman next year at USC, after throwing for 2,750 yards and running for another 1,197 yards as the quarterback of Lutheran High School in Orange Country, Calif.
Arkansas' projected starter at quarterback in the fall is Casey Dick, who will be backed up by Missouri Southern-transfer Nathan Emert.
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