Booty keeps making progress

Quarterback John David Booty’s broken finger survived another important test Tuesday.

Booty, on track to start Saturday against Oregon State, was hit in the hand as he attempted to pass during practice and he dropped the ball. But the senior felt no pain afterward and completed the practice with a better overall performance than his strong showing Monday.

“It didn’t bother me at all, which was a good sign to me even more than throwing well,” Booty said. “It really reacted good coming back and I was able to go full speed ahead.

“I’m really excited to see that I’m getting back to where I was.”

Booty took nearly all of the first-team snaps in preparation for his first start since Oct. 6 against Stanford, when he injured the middle finger on his throwing hand.

“He’s pretty much pain-free on the deal now so that’s a big sign that he’s on track to do some good work this weekend,” Coach Pete Carroll said.

Sophomore Mark Sanchez, who started the last three games, said he would continue to prepare as the starter.

“I think we can see where it’s heading, but there’s no final decision yet,” Sanchez said. “I just need to keep up the competitive attitude no matter what happens.”

Carroll, the boss of the Trojans’ football program, could not resist the opportunity to see The Boss.

Carroll said he briefly attended Bruce Springsteen’s concert on Monday night at the nearby Sports Arena.

Last week, The Times’ Jerry Crowe detailed how Carroll was influenced by Springsteen’s song, “Growin’ Up.”

“It was just something that happened a long time ago, that’s why it was something I really wanted to do,” Carroll said.

Carroll said he saw a few minutes of the end of the show.

“It was awesome to see the energy and the power of his performance,” Carroll said. “It was extraordinary. He just lifted that building. It was really cool.

“I had a chance to talk to him for a minute and he said, ‘That’s a great place for rock and roll.’ It was awesome.”

Linebacker Brian Cushing, a New Jersey native, attended Tuesday’s Springsteen show.

The jerseys of Heisman Trophy winners Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush went on display at Heritage Hall, joining those of Mike Garrett, O.J. Simpson, Charles White, Marcus Allen and Carson Palmer.

A USC official said the school had been waiting for the custom cases and mannequins to display Leinart’s No. 11 and Bush’s No. 5 jerseys.

Asked if was happy to have all the Heisman winners finally represented, Garrett, the athletic director, said, “I didn’t even know that we didn’t, so I can’t respond.”

Redshirt freshman Butch Lewis worked with the first unit at left tackle and will probably start in place of Sam Baker (hamstring). . . . Freshman center Kris O’Dowd (knee) practiced and could be available if needed against Oregon State. Matt Spanos remains the starter.

gary.klein@latimes.com