Michael Ventre

LOS ANGELES - When you think of people under tremendous amounts of pressure, the president usually comes to mind first, followed closely by Suri Cruise’s nanny, Katie Couric, airline baggage screeners, Tiger Woods’ trophy wrangler and the PR agency that represents Pluto.

To that list add the name John David Booty of USC, who probably has more pressure on him right now than any individual has ever had in college football history.

That’s a bold contention when you consider the competition for that dubious honor, dating back to the days when Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne felt a deep obligation to win because George Gipp was about to expire, or maybe even before, when President Teddy Roosevelt caused an uproar by threatening to ban the sport because it had become too violent, a stance that drew an immediate rebuke from Lee Corso.

But Booty definitely has them beat, because he comes along in the eye of a perfect storm.

First, college football is at an all-time high in terms of popularity. Certain sports have drifted into niches over the years, like NHL hockey and tennis, while the NFL and college football just keep getting bigger. Football is a television watcher’s delight, and there is more television covering more college football than ever before.

Also, certain schools get more attention than others. USC under Pete Carroll has evolved into the nation’s glamour program. The university is only a few miles from Hollywood, but the two are inextricably linked in the minds of media, fans and especially recruits.

Booty, a junior, is taking over at quarterback for a program that had won back-to-back national titles and lost out on an unprecedented third straight in the final 19 seconds of the Rose Bowl. Moreover, he steps in for Matt Leinart, arguably the only man alive who has had his arms around both the Heisman Trophy and Paris Hilton. In years past, the USC tailback stood on a pedestal holding a sword and leading the school band in post-game celebrations; now, thanks to Leinart and fellow Heisman winner Carson Palmer before him, it’s the QB.

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And to ratchet up the tension even further, Booty has been locked in a duel for the job with another prized recruit, Mark Sanchez. Booty will start for the Trojans at Arkansas on Saturday, but Sanchez has been impressive enough to keep the situation interesting.

Booty also has some perceptions to shatter, which have added to the pressure.

One: He can’t stay healthy. Booty broke his wrist late in 2003. He suffered a badly bruised elbow in 2004 and redshirted. He missed almost all of the 2006 spring drills because of a herniated disc in his back, for which he underwent surgery in March. Since fall camp began, he seems to be in great shape — except for those nagging doubts from some alumni and fans.

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Two: He is prone to making the dumb mistake. Booty has looked terrific at times in mop-up duty for Leinart, but then spoils it by tossing a bad pick or missing an open receiver. It’s probably not fair to judge a backup quarterback for garbage time performances, since the opposition often leaves its first string on the field and Booty has had to work with scrubs. But again, without more information to go on, this is what critics will focus on.

Three: He’s too short. Actually, he’s 6-2, the same height as Joe Montana was. But he has had some balls batted down at the line of scrimmage in practice, and immediately some eyebrows were raised and stayed raised. By contrast, Leinart and Palmer were 6-5 while at USC. Of course, Booty is more mobile and athletic than they were, and Trojan coaches are hoping to use that by employing more rollouts this season. If he gets one or two passes batted down in the opener, however, pundits will demand that he do stretching exercises.

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Four: He’s Booty. All that means is, in the minds of the Trojan faithful, he’s the No. 2 quarterback, because that’s all he has been thus far. Until he steps up and takes command and emphatically lays claim to the No. 1 job with impressive showings in actual games, he’ll always be viewed as Leinart’s perennial understudy.

But of course the Trojans would probably counter all that negativity by smacking you in the face with the obvious positives.

Booty is not the Vince Papale of college football. After his junior season in high school in 2002, he was the top-ranked quarterback prospect in the country. He then graduated early and when he arrived at USC, there were already murmurs that, after a little seasoning, he would be the man to replace Palmer. Norm Chow, the offensive coordinator at the time, told him he at least had a shot at the job, given the uncertainty at the position at the time.

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