Despite calls from Southern Cal fans to bench starting QB John David Booty, Trojans coach Pete Carroll confirmed that he would not demote the Heisman candidate, despite his four interception performance in the loss to Stanford.
“I’m not doing that,” Carroll said regarding a quarterback change. “That’s not what I would be thinking. It’s not a one-guy deal. It’s real easy to point it all at the quarterback. I’m not going to do that. If it was really a one-guy situation, the decision would be clear.
“It isn’t just because of the thrower. There’s a lot of things we can work on to be more efficient.”
Carroll said he is not sure of Booty’s status due to a broken middle finger on his throwing hand, but he will prepare backup QB Mark Sanchez and see how Booty recovers.
“It’s black and blue and all that kind of stuff,” Carroll said. “Mark has to go with the first group and play like he’s starting until he doesn’t. We’re going to prepare him as the starter.”
Sanchez took all the snaps with the first team during Monday’s practice.
Sanchez, a redshirt sophomore, said he felt for Booty, but was ready to make his first start if called upon.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel anything different at all,” Sanchez said. “It’s a matter of having a good week of practice, prepare like I always do — be ready to play if they need me. They just said to be ready. I got a lot of reps today.
“This team is looking to bounce back. We’ve got to play like ourselves, play like we’re capable of playing. I’m ready to perform, do whatever they need.”
Booty saw a specialist for his injury on Monday and has been medically cleared to practice with the team.
Afterward, Booty said he hoped the broken bone in the middle finger of his throwing hand wouldn’t keep him from playing Saturday against Arizona.
“That’s my goal, is to go tomorrow, give it a shot,” he said. “I can take the pain, for the most part. If I feel like I can compete, throw the ball accurately with some velocity, then I can play.”
Source: feeds.feedburner.com
