How do you go about replacing a guy with a 36-1 career record as a starter, 2 national titles, 99 touchdown passes, and over 10,000 yds passing? That is the question that Pete Carroll was hoping to answer this spring, but injuries and off the field allegations have prolonged the answer till the fall. Matt Leinart was in a tough position replacing Carson Palmer but whoever plays this year will have even bigger shoes to fill.

Coming into spring ball it was a two horse race between Louisana native Josh David Booty and California native Mark Sanchez. Both were as highly rated as can be coming out of high school, but Booty had a two year edge in experience, and when I say experience I mean clipboard holding. So let’s just say that Booty had the lead by a cheek.

In the beginning stages of spring practice Booty suffered a herinated disk in his back. Most think that this will not require any surgery but any back problem can be a lingering one for a quarterback with all the torquing in the throwing motion. That injury sidelined Booty for almost all of spring practice. So that was Sanchez’s chance to shine, and he made the best of his opportunity. The USC coaches said that he had a solid spring and picked up the offense much quicker than they expected. Sanchez ending the spring going 13 for 21 with 146 yds and a touchdown in the Trojan’s spring game.
So it is his job to lose right?

Wrong, on April 26 Mark Sanchez was arrested and charged with sexual assult. He has a court date set for May 17th but until then the university has put him on interim suspension. If Sanchez does not take finals his eligiblity for the 2006 season could be in jeopardy so would that make Booty the
starter again? Booty will most likely be ready to go by fall practice but who knows how long the back will hold up. But whether it be Booty, Sanchez, or even Michael McDonald, their minds can rest a little knowing they are throwing to two All-American WR in Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett. This fall should be an interesting one for the USC fans and might include a little more uncertainty than first expected but that is part of the fun, right?