Answer Thursday!
Here's the remaining questions from the Weekend Forum.
Q: With Allen Bradford's impressive spring, and the logjam at RB, do you see him only competing w/ B Green for short yardage/goal line situations, or does he have a chance to touch the ball on a more regular basis? AB is a beast!!!
A: I see him as a receiver (out of the fullback spot) or a short-yardage guy but in training camp he will get a chance to be an every down back. The logjam is pretty bad right now, with so many tailbacks (six). However, if he does well in the scrimmages, he could try to shake up the rotation.
Q: I was driving home late Sunday night and John Fricke, a sports radio commentator with a history of being very friendly to USC, said the rumor was buzzing throughout Southern California that the NCAA was getting ready to declare Reggie Bush ineligible and require SC to forfeit all the games in 2004 and 2005. Have you heard anything?
A: This is the speculation following the decision to conduct an open trial in September in Bush's case against one of his former marketing people. Bush will be deposed and the NCAA will be able to review his testimony. This could allow the NCAA to wrap up its case and could lead to potential penalties (or nothing).
Q: As a starter John David Booty's record was 20-3, including two Rose Bowl Game victories.
Of course we all consider him a bit of a let down after the success of Matt Leinart.Do you think history will be a bit kinder to Booty and focus on his own achievements without Leinart comparisons? As a follow up question, how many USC quarterbacks have won multiple Rose Bowl Game victories?
A: Booty should have a pretty good legacy. The problem is the two tipped interceptions everyone remembers from the two losses his first year. And last year was an inconsistent start. But it should be noted above everything else he did not have the supporting cast that Matt Leinart did. And to go 20-3 is quite an accomplishment. Not to mention he was respected by his teammates and coaches.
I'll let one of our historical experts answer the multiple winner question.
Great answers Scott.
I'd like to see Booty get some respect.
I'd also like to see what Allen Bradford can do. I'd never heard the receiver out of the fullback spot scenario with him before, it sounds interesting.
Get him on the field the same time as Joe McKnight and you have two extra receivers.
If only Norm Chow was still around...
Fair or not, Booty's legacy at USC won't be completely written until we see how he does in the NFL. If he is an NFL bust, he will simply be remembered as the QB between Leinart and Sanchez and he will share retrospectively a greater part of the three losses suffered when he was the starter. Not fair but that's the way it is.
College football is all about playmakers. Booty was too conservative and wasn't the difference maker needed. Maybe this was the conservative play calling? In my view he was the biggest reason SC didn't play in the BCS championship the last two years.
"The problem [with Booty] is the two tipped interceptions EVERYONE REMEMBERS from the two losses his first year." (Emphais added.)
-- Wolf.
Uh, I guess not EVERYONE REMEMBERS it, Scott. Only the UCLA pass was picked. The Oregon State tipped pass fell "harmlessly" to the ground incomplete.
Correction. I was at that Oregon State game, and the tipped pass did not fall harmlessly to the ground. It fell menacingly and shockingly to the ground. It did not have to be intercepted, it being a 2-point play. The play prevented SC from tying the game. Game over.
Did any SC quarterback win 2 Rose Bowls? The 72 to 74 club won in 72 and 74 but I believe it was Mike Raye and Pat Haden respectively.
Now the period of 78 to 79 has me stumped. The SC team of 78 and 79 won back-to-back, but for the life of me I cannot recall who was the quarterback(s).
The QB for the '78 and '79 teams was Paul McDonald.
Thank you, Wolf Fact (by the way, a great monikor), now it is straight in my mind. I do remember Paul McDonald bringing SC back from the dead in that 78 game against Joe Montana. Montana had rallied his team brilliantly to take a lead with little time left. But Paul set Troy up with a couple of sharp passes for the winning field goal in the last seconds, and SC went on to win the national championship in the Rose Bowl. What an ND game.
God, it is great to a Trojan football fan. These memories are what life is all about (unless of course you actually played in the games, which one-ups us fans).
Doesn't Paul McDonald's son have the best pass to touchdown ratio in Trojan Football history?
Magic!!!