Booty Matures as Backup

USC quarterback John David Booty could be getting ready for his senior prom.

Instead, the sophomore who skipped his final year of high school to enroll at USC last fall, is preparing for Saturday’s spring scrimmage at the Coliseum.

“The prom would have been fun,” Booty said with a chuckle after practice on Thursday. “Instead, I’m here all sweaty and getting hit by guys that weigh 200 pounds more than me.”

It was a little more than a year ago that Booty and his father, Johnny, who coached John David in high school, first visited USC’s spring practice. Booty observed Trojan quarterbacks for a few days, then committed to the Trojans before returning home to Shreveport, La. After Johnny was fired as quarterbacks coach at Evangel Christian Academy a few weeks later, John David announced he would forgo his senior season to attend USC.

In the time since, quarterback Matt Leinart produced a record-setting season as a sophomore, led the Trojans to a share of the national title and established himself as a front-runner for the Heisman Trophy next season.

Booty played sparingly last season after he was elevated to No. 2 on the depth chart before the sixth game. He is preparing to step in if Leinart is injured or falters during the fall. Should Leinart remain healthy and play well, Booty could redshirt and still have three seasons of eligibility left.

On Thursday, with his father back on the sidelines at Howard Jones Field for the first time since the family’s initial visit last spring, Booty worked to ready himself for Saturday’s scrimmage.

The event drew an estimated crowd of 5,000 people last year.

“I’m not going to try to do anything spectacular,” Booty said. “It’s about managing everything, not throwing as hard as you can, but just manage the game, manage the field and move the team. At the end, I just want [the coaches] to say, ‘You managed the game well today.’ ”

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Coach Pete Carroll said the Trojans’ young offensive line appears more mobile and quicker than the units of his first few seasons.

Redshirt freshman Sam Baker, who is competing to replace All-American Jacob Rogers at left tackle, has been particularly impressive.

“He looks like he’s doing the same kinds of things that Jake was doing for us,” Carroll said.