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.
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.
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."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. 
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.
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. 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.
Now there are some in the league who believe that Minnesota's fifth-round pick, former USC quarterback John David Booty, could have the chance to prove he was another player who slipped further than he should have.Decision making was an issue for Tarvaris Jackson during his first full season as the Vikings starter, and if Booty is allegedly the down-the-road answer at the position, let's hope that there's no correlation between Wonderlic scores and on-field performance.
Booty is known more for his accuracy and decisions than his arm strength, which could play perfectly in Minnesota. The Vikings have the league's top running back tandem in Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor. As long as their quarterback makes few mistakes, Minnesota will be difficult to defend and beat.
According to Mirable, Booty and Woodson each scored 14 out of a possible 50. To put this in perspective, Terry Bradshaw scored 15 when he took the test in 1970, according to Mirabile's site. Pat McInally, a graduate of Harvard, is thought to be the only player to score a perfect 50.I'm not convinced there's a strong correlation between Wonderlic score and on-field performance, but just to be safe, it's probably in a player's best interest to actually, you know, try to actually stay inside the lines when filling in the bubbles.
A score of under 10 is an indication of literacy problems. The average score for a quarterback is 24. Offensive tackles average the highest score at 26.
