Here’s another question regarding John David Booty and the Stanford game.

Q: Scott, concerning the Booty vs. Sanchez in the Stanford game, you wrote, in part:

“A: I have not seen this interview but if what you say is true, it is interesting because Carroll finally admitted to you fans what he told me during the season: That he would not put Sanchez in the game. During the season, Carroll said repeatedly that he made a mistake leaving Booty in the game. But he told me that was really spin to take the heat off Booty.”

Here is my question: Did you previously report that discrepancy? (I don’t recall it, that’s for sure.) If not, why did you keep such information to yourself? Did he tell you to keep off the record? Any other reason to keep that info private? Any insight as to your thought process (if it wasn’t reported) is greatly appreciated. Thanks for the forum.

A: I’ve repeatedly written that Carroll’s public answer was designed to take the heat off Booty and he did not feel he made a mistake.
For example, on Jan. 2, I wrote about this post-game quote at the Rose Bowl from Carroll.
““I’ve told you 1,000 times I blew it and screwed it up,” Carroll said. “I made a horrendous error in judgment.
“This remains perplexing, because Carroll said when he first made this statement it was spin intended to take the heat off criticism of Booty.”
This is why I found his answer interesting last week on the video.