Stand By Your Man Written by John Bishop October 27, 2003

At the beginning of the year, I secretly thought that, if it came right down to it, and we went head-to-head, man-to-man, arm-to-arm, I could probably out-throw Matt Leinart, maybe by at least 10 yards. We all saw him miss a couple receivers in his first-ever college start, and he threw what analysts should have called the “worst pick ever” against Cal in the third quarter.

That said, his play in the last four games has put me and all of his doubters to shame. He’s leading USC’s attack just as efficiently as Carson did last year, and he’s using the tremendous amount of firepower on our football team to his advantage. It’s not a stretch to envision us in the Rose Bowl, or even in the Sugar Bowl, behind his capable, affable, confident, left-handed leadership. So why isn’t he the present and future at the quarterback position?

John David Booty.

The name has been floating around USC ever since somebody figured out you could say “I want Booty,” and giggle. He’s young, he’s tall, he’s talented, and he skipped his final year of high school so he could ride into USC and lead us to national glory. And as such, nobody notices that we’re already being led to glory right now by the soft-spoken, left-handed, redshirt sophomore that (I don’t know if you’ve heard this…) is dating a professional model and surfer.

Matt Leinart isn’t old enough to be just a stepping stone on the Booty path. He’s got two more years. And as excited as we were to see J.D.B. throw a pass or two against Stanford, it meant that he’s not redshirting this year and has only three more years. Do you really think he skipped his senior year of high school to only play football his senior year of college? There’s a confrontation coming, and Coach Carroll is committed to giving Booty a shot. In fact, check out this quote about Booty from our quarterback’s coach Steve Sarkisian in a recent ESPN.com article:

"He's a little different than Matt; he's extremely gifted."

I’m not a print journalist, but I’m almost sure that doesn’t qualify as a ringing endorsement.

So here’s my question. Maybe Matt Leinart isn’t “gifted.” I know he could still struggle, I know the pressure of a Pac-10 road game or a UCLA game might still rattle him, but what if he doesn’t stop succeeding? What if we win the Rose Bowl behind him? What if we get a shot at the national championship? What if USC brings home a national title for the first time since 1978 with Matt Leinart at the helm of our team? Is there really going to be a quarterback controversy next spring?

"Absolutely," coach Pete Carroll has said, "That's what our program is based on, competition. I think that's a good thing for all of us. Matt is well aware of that."

I disagree. I don’t think it’s a good thing for all of us. I don’t think it’s a good thing for USC to bench a winning quarterback even if we’ve got a talented backup. I don’t think it’s a good thing for Matt Leinart to send him a message that is anything other than “this is your team, son, bring us home.” I don’t think it’s a good thing for his teammates to see uncertainty at the one position where certainty, leadership, and confidence are of paramount importance.

And I don’t think it’s a good thing for me. I want to see us support a winner, and Leinart is a genuinely humble guy who is taking us for a heck of a ride. I’m proud, as a fan, to cheer for him.

So what if I’m more accurate?

Past Columns:

Leave Well Enough Alone September 22, 2003