Opinion

By Dave Curtis

updated 5:52 p.m. ET April 7, 2009

Instead, Mustain lives in a day-to-day battle to inherit the USC offense from Mark Sanchez, who bailed for the aforementioned league a year early. At best, Mustain is neck-and-neck with favorite Aaron Corp and hotshot freshman Matt Barkley. At worst, he's a distant third, and fighting with utility man Garrett Green for that spot. And if the latter ends up closer to the truth, then Mustain should start training for the Combine right now.

Corp, whose running skills would bring a new dynamic to the Trojans' pro-style offense, is a redshirt sophomore. Barkley, who fits the Palmer-Leinart profile (California-born, golden-armed, Heisman winner-in-waiting), enrolled early and will be a true freshman in the fall. If Mustain can't beat these guys now, odds are low he'll leapfrog them between now and Graduation Day.

Mustain emerged from Springdale (Ark.) High in 2006 as the nation's second-best quarterback prospect, behind Matthew Stafford (maybe the NFL's No. 1 draft pick in three weeks) and ahead of Tim Tebow (maybe you've heard of him, too). Mustain has stayed healthy and felony-free. And there's a better-than-average chance he could sail through school without running a team and feeling comfortable doing it.

He started his career at Arkansas, serving as a protagonist in a turbulent 2006 Razorbacks season. The hometown boy went 8-0 as a starter, winning over the fans and setting up Arky's SEC West title. Then he got benched during the Hogs' stretch run for what coach Houston Nutt deemed a lack of experience, and he eventually left for USC. Mustain wanted to trade politics for playing time; but after sitting out a transfer year, he threw just 16 passes in eight relief appearances last season as a Trojan.

"It's been an interesting few years," Mustain said. "It's been a huge learning experience. And I don't regret any of it."

What's he learned? First, the "work hard, wait your turn" philosophy gets you a ball cap and a clipboard, especially in Pete Carroll's Red Bull-paced program. High school teammates back home would joke that nothing excited their quarterback. But Mustain now plays and acts like a leader, concentrating as much on his presence as his passing.

"How you carry yourself, how you talk, you really have to get into that and make yourself felt," he said. "You have to make your coaches and your teammates remember that you're there and that you can play."

Mustain also has seen the value of a serene quarterback meeting room. He says now his style didn't mesh with ex-QB coach Steve Sarkisian, and he admits he clashed some with Sanchez. In the next breath, he says he's thriving under new coach Jeremy Bates, and that he, Corp and Barkley could double as the Three Musketeers.

The Bates factor could be the biggest asset in Mustain's pocket. The new coach's approach to mechanics seems to work for Mustain — the quarterbacks spent much of the winter without a ball, working on footwork and body position alone. And Bates' knack for working with all the quarterbacks, and not just the first-stringer, has won him a fan as well.

"Regardless of who's in, we know what was good, what was bad," Mustain said. "If there's a mistake, we talk about it all together. It's been a nice change."

Mustain would like to see one more change this spring: a secure spot atop the depth chart. He's too gifted to end his college career with eight starts. And this sure looks like his last chance to change that number.

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