FanHouse JohnDavidBooty

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.

You have to think that if the Viking were truly worried about the quarterback situation, at least in 2008, they would've taken one before the fifth round. But as NFL Network's Adam Schefter re-reminds us, some of the league's best quarterbacks were taken late in the draft. Like, say, Tom Brady (I couldn't believe it either).

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.

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.

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.

And just for the sake of argument, didn't Minnesota already have a heady, weak-armed QB? You know, before they released Kelly Holcomb? And Holcomb had the added advantage of experience. Why invest the time and energy into grooming the next Holcomb when he was already on the team?

That's not to say that Jackson might not be the long-term solution, or that Booty won't someday be a swell NFL quarterback. It's just that if the Vikings were serious about upgrading the position, you think they would've done it before the fifth round with a guy who only managed a 14 on an IQ test.

So we're midway through the fourth round and the only quarterback drafted so far today is San Diego State's Kevin O'Connell. To the Patriots. USC's John David Booty, Kentucky's Andre Woodson and Hawaii's Colt Brennan are still on the board, which is kinda surprising given all the teams in need of quarterback help.

I think Brennan's issues are more physical in nature, but Booty's and Woodson's fall might have more to do with their test-taking abilities. Mac Mirabile annually gets his mitts on the super-secret Wonderlic scores, and it looks like Booty and Woodson could use a little Kaplan prep course. From the Wizard of Odds:

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.

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.

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.

Opinions are like ... well, you know. Here's our smelly take.

WHAT NFL SCOUTS ARE SAYING

Pro Football Weekly's 2008 NFL Draft Guide

Is clearly well-coached, with very sound mechanics. A pure pocket passer with functional arm strength, Booty is a West Coast, rhythm passer who will need to play in an offense that features a lot of short crosses and slants to be effective. Could develop into a solid backup, but would handicap what an offense could do as a starter.

Bonus Moment of Contradiction

Keeps his poise under pressure and does not pull the ball down to run.

Two sentences later:

Shows little awareness for pressure and can be rattled.

PROBABLY GETTING DRAFTED ...

Second day, in the third, fourth or fifth round.

GUY WHO WATCHED HIM FOR FIVE YEARS IS SAYING

One of the draft's most vexing prospects, Booty did the near impossible in transforming himself from a marvelous high school gunslinger in a shotgun system to a pure pocket passer running an NFL offense. He's one of the rare quarterbacks to successfully transition out of a system that produced highly regarded future flame-outs Josh Booty, Brock Berlin and Brent Rawls.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers spent a whole lot of time in the 2007 off-season trying to figure out who their starting quarterback would be, with Jake Plummer, Chris Simms, Luke McCown and Bruce Gradkowski all at least having a shot.

For 2008, however, the Bucs are clearly set at quarterback: Jeff Garcia had a good first year as the starter in Tampa, head coach Jon Gruden clearly likes him, and new quarterbacks coach Greg Olson has a good relationship with him. Garcia will be the man for the Bucs this year.

But that doesn't mean we won't hear more about the quarterback position in Tampa Bay this off-season. As Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune writes, the Buccaneers will give serious thought to selecting a quarterback on the first day of this year's NFL draft, either with their first-round pick (20th overall) or their second-round pick (52nd overall).

Who could it be? Boston College's Matt Ryan will be off the board before the Bucs pick, and Louisville's Brian Brohm likely will be as well. That leaves Delaware's Joe Flacco, Michigan's Chad Henne, USC's John David Booty and Kentucky's Andre Woodson among the guys Tampa Bay might consider. Whoever it is, a quarterback drafted by Tampa Bay would be in a good position, with some time backing up Garcia before becoming a starter. As long as it's a quarterback who can tolerate Gruden getting in his face, he'd be in good shape.

Were it not for all the other wackiness in College Football this season, the collapses of California and Oregon Football would be among this year's major story lines. As both teams were poised to take over the number-one ranking in the country, their quarterbacks suffered injuries which sent their seasons on a downward spiral.

Oregon infamously refused to disclose the status of Dennis Dixon's knee during the bye week between games against Arizona State and Arizona, only to have their national championship hopes dislocated against the Wildcats.

But hiding a quarterback injury wasn't exclusive to the Ducks. California quarterback Nate Longshore played the nearly the whole season with a chipped bone in his ankle--hobbling him ever since the Bears beat the Ducks. Bears coach Jeff Tedford admitted yesterday, "There's a little chip in the back part of it there. I didn't get that it was a broken ankle. But Nate had talked to me about a little chip that was in the back there."