FanHouse John David Booty

When the Vikings and Brett Favre ended their dance and finally agreed to become an item, it was assumed that Tarvaris Jackson would be getting the short end of the straw. It was Jackson's play the last few seasons, after all, that led to the need for a new starter. Sage Rosenfels, the new acquisition via trade, and John David Booty, the developmental quarterback, seemed safe.

Yet Saturday, when the axe fell on the Vikings roster in their pursuit to trim to 53 players, it was Booty who found himself out of a job.

Apparently Brett Favre had decided more than a week ago that he wasn't going to join the Vikings, but the Vikings wouldn't take "no" for an answer.

ESPN.com's Ed Werder reports that Favre told Vikings offensive coordinator Darren Bevell on July 20 that he would not be coming back, and that Bevell and the rest of the Vikings staff asked him to wait and think about it a little longer. The Vikings then had Adrian Peterson, Jared Allen and Steve Hutchinson call or text Favre to try to convince him to come out of retirement in what a source told ESPN was a full-court press.

Last year, John David Booty had it pretty well. He was the Vikings No. 3 quarterback, which means he collected a cool $350,000-plus to stand on the sidelines with a headset and a clipboard.

But now he has a lot of reasons to get nervous. If Brett Favre doesn't join the Vikings, he's set to be the team's No. 3 quarterback for a second straight year, and with Tarvaris Jackson heading into the final year of his rookie contract, Booty would appear to be in good shape.

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Redshirt sophomore Aaron Corp has been named USC's starting quarterback. After a spring filled with drama, intrigue and at times four competitors, Corp is officially USC's guy. Corp beat out early enrolling super frosh Matt Barkley and Arkansas transfer Mitch Mustain to ascend to perhaps the most prestigious position in all of college football, with a pair of national championships and Heisman Trophies to its name since 2002.

Not lost among the excitement is the surprising ascent of Barkley, who also pulled a major upset in beating out Mustain for the No. 2 job and who Corp admitted is "right there". USC coach Pete Carroll says that although Corp has been named the starter, the competition will be pushed into the fall due to the unusual growth and possibilities offered by Barkley.

College Football Spring Storylines 2009 looks at the key developments and big news from spring ball.

Perhaps no other storyline carries as much national importance for college football as USC's quarterback battle. With the three Heisman Trophy finalists -- Tim Tebow, Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy -- returning to Florida, Oklahoma and Texas, respectively, USC may be next in line as a championship contender. The Trojans are hosting a three-man battle between Matt Barkley (left), Aaron Corp (middle) and Mitch Mustain to determine the school's next quarterback who will hopefully follow in the school's lineage of successful signal-callers and maybe even lead the team to a national title.

If you keep up with sports media, and by "keep up" I mean read anything, you have heard the claims over the last two days that the Vikings would have won their playoff game against Philadelphia with anyone behind center not named Tarvaris Jackson.

Jackson went 15-35 for only 164 yards, no touchdowns and one interception, which was so badly thrown it almost looked like he thought Asante Samuel was a wide receiver. The Eagles won and the Vikings are headed to a long off-season and it appears nobody in Minnesota can smile.

Now even backup quarterback Gus Frerotte, who played in 11 games this season and would have continued to start had he not hurt his back against the Lions in Week 14, is complaining about what happened, saying he may have been the answer.

"I just don't know what to think right now," Frerotte told Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports. "It was a very frustrating experience, because I felt like I should've been the one playing. That might sound selfish, but I think I would've given us the best chance to win. I'm going home to St. Louis [on Monday] to be with my family and figure out where things stand, but the way things played out at the end really makes me question things."

So, you don't own Peyton Manning, Tony Romo, Jay Cutler, Tom Brady (oops - kidding) or any reliable fantasy QB option for that matter. That's cool, your season is toast. I kid. It's not exactly the most ideal position or should I say predicament you want to face. However, you never know... help can always be right around the corner. You've just gotta be ready to snatch up the opportunity when it presents itself.

You see, year in and year out there is always at least one QB that comes completely out of nowhere to become an absolute stud. Now, "that" guy may take some time to develop or need an injury or underachieving QB in front of him to be benched. However, just like the Cubs and the World Series... it's gonna happen! (Sincere apologies for jinxing the Cubs).

Anyhow, it started with the Kurt Warner breakthrough back in the '70s - um, I mean 1999. And it's been a trend. A few seasons ago Tony Romo battled his way through obscurity and a statuesque Drew Bledsoe to make a lasting fantasy impact down the stretch. Last year it took a few games, but suddenly Derek Anderson was a solid option who helped many a fantasy team. Yup, from undrafted to fantasy stardom... you know the drill.

Well, today I'm pulling out a few obvious names and a few sleepers that could be ready to grab the "who's the next (fill-in-the-blank)" surprise QB of the year. Let's run through this real quick... shall we?

As is the norm, there are big names who have moved on down the road in the Pac 10. From bowl-winning QB's to standout running backs, the list is a long one. But clearly one of the most exciting things about an upcoming season of college football is always the element of the unknown. What young players are waiting in the wings? What hotshot recruit with all the whispers that he is going to be special will finally be unleashed for public consumption? But as is usually the case, the young replacements come in to take the spots of some pretty established players who leave a large body of work behind them. With that, we look at the five biggest Pac 10 shoes that must be filled and the candidates to replace them.

JOHN DAVID BOOTY, QB, USC

The QB position for USC is always a glamor spot, and a perfect place to start. John David Booty came into the 2007 season as everyone's Heisman favorite, and for good reason. Booty was coming off a 2006 breakthrough performance, throwing for over 3300 yards and 29 TD's. But while USC went 11-2, won a share of the conference title, and Booty capped off his senior season with a fine performance in a Rose Bowl blowout of Illinois, still, things didn't quite work out. He threw for nearly 1,000 fewer yards in 2007 than he had the prior year. A broken finger on his throwing hand had a lot to do with it, and he even missed three games due to the injured digit. But that said, Booty was more about stats. He was a leader and a winner, and could be more difficult to replace than originally thought. This year we find out if Mark Sanchez is the answer. Or will we? Sanchez, as was reported last week, suffered a dislocated knee cap during non-contact drills. While still not 100% officially ruled out for the season opener at Virginia, the latest report has his status very much up in the air. Meanwhile, Arkansas transfer Mitch Mustain and redshirt frosh Aaron Corp will run the offense in a job that suddenly appears wide open. It could be worse though. Mustain didn't go completely bananas at Arkansas, throwing for a modest 894 yards in eight starts as a true frosh year in 2006. But he did go a perfect 8-0 as a starter, so, he's got that going for him. Which is good.

I have no idea if Vikings backup Gus Frerotte is just being diplomatic, but whatever, this is good to hear if you're concerned about the team's postseason chances because of the uncertainty at the quarterback position. And you know who I'm talking about.

"Great athlete, good arm. Obviously knows the system. I like watching him play," Frerotte said. "I think people have said things in the past about him but I think you're going to see a different guy this year. Just from what I've seen, he's improved a lot. I think the way he's playing now in these OTAs, it's going to be interesting to see in minicamp and especially when we get to training camp how he's progressed over his time and in the NFL."

Frerotte was signed to mentor Tarvaris Jackson (as much as players do such things), not to actually compete for playing time. Which means that if Frerotte's under center at any point this season for non-injury-related reasons, something went horribly wrong.

For now, though, things seems to be coming together for Jackson. Last month, former Vikings quarterback Rich Gannon couldn't say enough about Jackson's progress, and despite some speculation that John David Booty might be the next late-round wonder, Jackson's not looking over his shoulder.

Frerotte says he'll harp on Jackson to work more from the pocket -- a problem for most young quarterbacks -- something he tried to do with Daunte Culpepper during his first stint with the team during the 2003-04 seasons. I'm guessing head coach Brad Childress would settle for something less than Culpepper in his prime, but obviously a lot more than what we saw from Jackson last season.

Last month, I pointed out an NFL.com column courtesy of Adam Schefter that suggested that Vikings fifth-round pick John David Booty "could have the chance to prove he was another player who slipped further than he should have." I'm unconvinced, but then again, I don't make a living evaluating NFL players.

Former Vikings quarterback Rich Gannon is excited about Tarvaris Jackson, and he thinks 2008 could be his year. Not everybody is as high on Jackson as Gannon, which has fueled speculation about Booty emerging as the starter at some point next season.

The Star Tribune's Judd Zulgad squashes that notion in a recent Vikings Blog Q & A. When asked about Booty supplanting Jackson, Zulgad writes:

Nope. This is Tarvaris Jackson's job to lose and if anybody is going to challenge him short term it's going to be Gus Frerotte. Booty might be familiar with the West Coast offense from his days at USC but he isn't ready to step in at the NFL level. Keep in mind, it's May and these 24-hour football networks need something to talk about.