Michael Ventre

LOS ANGELES - It is a requirement of the quarterback position to anticipate change. Every look downfield for a receiver is slightly different than the last. Every situation has at least one or two wrinkles that require an adjustment. The signal-caller who is best at thinking on his feet is usually the one who avoids landing on his butt.

For the 2006 college football season, John David Booty of USC had to deal with one big delightful change. After sitting behind Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart for three years, he finally got the nod as a starter. His debut campaign was largely successful: 3,347 passing yards, 29 touchdowns, a 62-percent completion rate, and an 11-2 record topped off by a rousing 32-18 victory over Michigan in the Rose Bowl.

Now all Booty has to do is mail in similar results for 2007, and the Trojans will be in the thick of the national championship hunt.

Well, not so fast.

There are those pesky changes again. As Booty steps into a season that has him among the leading candidates for the Heisman, he also has to reckon with a rash of adjustments.

His two most reliable targets from last season, Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith, are gone to the NFL. Together they accounted for 141 receptions and 21 TDs. Coach Pete Carroll and his staff have no shortage of All-America candidates to replace them, but until those players actually go out and snag Booty deliveries against other schools’ defenses reliably and consistently, there will be a small cloud of doubt on Booty and the passing game.

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Then there is Lane Kiffin, last year’s offensive coordinator, who left to become coach of the Oakland Raiders. Booty arrived at USC as a highly touted freshman out of Shreveport, La., in 2003, which means this season he will be working with his third different offensive coordinator. First there was Norm Chow, then Kiffin, now Steve Sarkisian. The adjustment to Sarkisian won’t be that jarring, since Sarkisian — as assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach in ’06 — worked closely with Carroll and Kiffin last year in designing the offense and calling the plays. Still, it’s another alteration in a series of them.

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Protection is also a handy asset for a successful QB. Two starting offensive linemen from last season, center Ryan Kalil and tackle Kyle Williams, are gone. Kalil is the more significant loss, because he and Booty had that special working relationship between center and QB that most fans take for granted but is essential to efficient football.

The Trojans are just about everyone’s preseason favorite No. 1, but whether they maintain that title will hinge upon Booty’s ability to adapt to a new set of circumstances within a familiar environment.

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Booty is a low-key, polite, personable Southern kid and about as unflappable as humans get. Still, Sarkisian was asked after a practice this week if he could penetrate that stoic exterior and detect any changes in his No. 1 quarterback.

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“Sure, mentally and physically,” he said immediately. “He’s obviously more mature. He’s handling the situation I think a lot better, on and off the field. As a fifth-year senior and a returning starter, I think he’s handling everything that comes along with this position extremely well.

“Playing quarterback here isn’t always about throwing slant routes. It encompasses a lot. I think he handled his teammates really well, I thought he handled the media extremely well, the coaching staff extremely well. I think he’s been a fantastic leader by example for the young kids.

“And he’s playing really well. Knock on wood, he hasn’t thrown an interception in this camp. … That’s pretty good, against the best defense in America. He’s playing very good football. He’s not trying to go out and play great. He’s just playing the way he knows how to play and for him that’s good enough because he’s a darned good player.”

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