From the Official blog:
Mitch Mustain took most of the second-team reps, and Coach Carroll acknowledged that the junior is "a little bit ahead" of fellow backup quarterback Aaron Corp for the No. 2 role behind starter Matt Barkley. "The competition stays open," Carroll said.
Mitch is coming off one of his best practices on Friday where he went 10-12 for 141-yards and 2 TDs. Gotta feel for Aaron Corp, kid has officially hit rock bottom.
Sophomore Aaron Corp has been named USC's starting quarterback for Saturday's scrimmage and will keep the role throughout the summer and into training camp, Coach Pete Carroll said today.
Carroll said on his website that Corp was in the lead to replace Mark Sanchez, an edge the former Orange Lutheran High star held over freshman Matt Barkley and junior Mitch Mustain throughout spring practice.
No surprise here. As well as Matt's played, he's a bit too out-of-control to start at this point. Even late in his career at Mater Dei, he had habits you knew would cause problems at the next level like trying to rely too much on his arm and taking on the gunslinger mentality.
Not saying Aaron is poised to take us to the NC, but for now, in the current situation, he is the best candidate to lead the offense.
From LATimes.com:
Offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian made it official before practice when he met with Sanchez, Mitch Mustain and Aaron Corp individually and told them that Sanchez, the fourth-year junior, was the No. 1 quarterback.
"He said, 'I just want to give you a little forewarning: You're it, man. You're the guy. You've proven it and we believe in you,' " Sanchez said, grinning.
No big surprise. I've been saying that the current QB battle is completely overhyped and far from being completely open. The only way Mark was (or will) going to lose this job was if he completely tanked during practices to a point that Pete and Sark would be forced to hand the job over to Mitch. This QB battle is not for the right to be a starter, it's a tug-of-war for Coach Carroll's patience.
Based on reports it looks like Allen Bradford was one of the stars of the day. Dan Weber of PE.com says Allen looked noticeably quicker than he has in the past two years. That's great news because I'm a big fan of Allen and hope he gets some PT this year. I still would love to see him on the defensive side of the ball cause he hits like a MAC truck, but if the coaches feel offensive is where he'll succeed, then I'll trust their judgment.
Another player that seems to be getting a lot of buzz is Damian Williams, the WR transfer from Arkansas. As I've mentioned before, I've seen Damian several times and thought he was really impressive. Mark Sanchez sums up why I think he's going to be a star in the making, "He can find windows in a defense and feel where the quarterback's eyes are," Sanchez said. "And he's got great spatial awareness, so he's going to be a great tool for us." That's one of the most immediate things I noticed. He looks very controlled on the field and knows where to find the empty spots on the field. Last player, I saw excel at that was Mike Williams.
Various reports say all 3 quarterbacks looked sharp today, so after day 1, the score is 2 points for Mark, 1 point for Mitch, and no points for Aaron. On a bad note, it looks like Averell Spicer will be out for Spring with a knee injury. I've heard lot of great things about Christian Tupou, so that should elevate the competition. Overall seems like a pretty solid day for the team.
From LATimes.com:
Q: If you're consistent and Mark doesn't have a terrible spring, are you prepared for the fact that you may not win the job?
A: Mentally I am. Who knows? It's definitely something coming in a year ago that I accepted. I knew it was going to be a probability and so I prepared myself for that. In that case I'll be the backup and continue to get better. Not hope for the worst for Mark but definitely be ready if my opportunity comes up.
Q: Before you made your decision to come to USC, you cited Matt Cassel and said even USC's backups were successful. You said that if you came out here and did not end up starting it would still be worth it. Do you still feel that way?
A: I think it's set in on me a little more now how hard that is to do -- to be able to sit back for the three years I have left. But at the same time I'd definitely agree with that even more now than I did. I love the school, I've had a great time and I love the program and so I would definitely not have any problem sticking around and continuing to get better and wait for my shot.
Rest the rest here...
You can read Gary Klein's interview with Mark Sanchez yesterday here. I really like Mitch's humble approach to the QB "battle" between him and Mark. It's clear that he knows Mark has a considerable lead yet is ready to compete, but I like that he is also prepared to handle being a back-up if things don't work out. How many times have we seen a player so dead-set on being a starter, that they've fallen apart when things didn't work out as planned? There's Michael Coleman and Josh Tatum to name a few...
Mitch is a smart guy and isn't oblivious to the fact that Mark has been in the system far longer than he has, is a veteran in the eyes of the coaching staff, and has a stronger rapport with the players. Of course no lead on the depth chart is insurmountable, but that is one steep hill to climb for any player. I think often times, people misconstrue competition as being emotional and at arms, but sometimes, like in this case, it's about going your business on the field and knowing where you stand off of it. The worst thing Mitch can do is try to polarize himself and turn the QB battle into a personal thing. Mitch's time will come, he just needs to be ready at any moment, and it seems like at this point he's on the right track...
From LATimes.com:
What's your relationship like with Mitch?
It think it's similar to the way John David and I were at the beginning when I first came in. We're cordial. We don't go out of our way to hang out around campus or anything like that but if he ever needed a ride or I needed a ride we can talk to each other about whatever. We're good friends. . . . There's no hatred. As much as [people] try and put you against each other it's not like that at all. We both obviously want to play just like any quarterback would. And the toughest part is that it's not like a receiver or a lineman or a running back where you rotate. There's one quarterback.
What do you think is Mitch's best attribute?
He has a great arm. He can throw the ball through a brick wall; he really has a strong arm. His experience at Arkansas will help him because he played just as many if not more games than me in a big-time conference at a major Division I school. It's not like there were any slouches. He was playing against good players and good teams.
Definitely worth reading the whole thing. Tomorrow, Gary Klein is posting his interview with Mitch Mustain. The media is already hyping the battle between the two QB's but I don't buy it, I think the battle will be a tug-of-war for Pete Carroll's patience. As far as I'm concerned, Mark will be the starter at Virginia unless he absolutely tanks in epic proportions during Spring/Fall. Whether he gets 1, 2, or 3 bad games on his insurance card is what I believe is truly at stake during Spring/Fall camp.
I've said numerous times before that I've watched Mark since he was at MVHS and I believe he will not only be a Heisman finalist (and possible winner) before he leaves SC, but will also lead us to the NC (whether we win depends on the opponent). A lot of SC fans seem to be jumping on the Mustain bandwagon, but I'm sticking with Mark through and through. Only time will tell...
USCFootball.com has a couple videos from a throwing session held by players this week. In the "part 2" video, RoJo's acceleration is amazing. Also like how the ball is coming out of Mitch Mustain's hands; he has a nice snap to his release.
Nice short interview over at USCFootball.com. Two things jumped out at me after watching the video: (1) Mitch sounds and carries himself like a senior and (2) he has nice zip on his throws.
