Mitch Mustain’s killer mistakes
August 19th, 2008, 10:45 am · 13 Comments · posted by Michael Lev, staff writer
It has become a regularity during USC’s training camp: Mitch Mustain will throw at least one head-scratching interception.
He did it again Monday afternoon, trying to hit Travon Patterson in double coverage in the end zone. Sophomore safety Marshall Jones was playing center field on the play and easily made the pick. Mustain made the throw on third down during a simulated overtime session.
Mustain’s propensity for killer turnovers is the main reason I believe Aaron Corp will get the starting nod if Mark Sanchez can’t go against Virginia.
USC’s coaches haven’t said as much, but they have to realize that this team — with a great defense, a good running game and solid specialists — will win the majority of its games if it avoids turnovers.
Corp is unconventional and doesn’t have Mustain’s arm, but Corp can make plays with his feet and more often than not finds a way to get the job done. It doesn’t always look pretty, but it works.
If I were to rank the quarterbacks in terms of likelihood to start at Virginia, based on what we know right now, I’d do it like this:
- Sanchez
- Corp
- Mustain
August 19th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Interesting. I just cannot make a call like this having not viewed any practices.
He’s supposed to be over throwing everything up for grabs..with his experience.
August 19th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Very good articles Michael
Hey,
have you seen Sanchez and Corp enough to notice if one is better in escapability/scrambling than the other ?
Is Corp’s arm strength and accuracy comparable with Sanchez ??
What are their 40 yard dash times ??
Thomas
August 19th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
It’s really hard to compare Corp to Sanchez. Sanchez barely practiced before getting hurt. I don’t think Corp’s arm is as good as Sanchez’s, but Corp seems like a better runner. I’ll get a better gauge once Sanchez returns.
August 19th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Man where talking about practice!! Against one of the best defenses in the nation. Don’t get me wrong, I’m hoping Sanchez does well, but don’t write Mitch Mustain off yet, considering alot of USC fans wanted him ahead of Sanchez during the spring. So he’ll do fine when his time comes, but don’t write him off yet.
August 19th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
I have seen all three before and recenlty- in the scrimmages, i agree that mustain makes some awful reads; he does have the experience but under a different system, arm strength is better than corp’s in my opinion; Corp does seem in better control, arm strength, he lets some passes get away from him, not tight spirals and as a result sometimes under throws his wide-outs, but he does scrammble and make a play happen - which is probably his best attribute. at this time, w/ the info at hand and from what i have seen, i would go about it the same way since they are both about at the same learning curve of the playing calling - Sanchez, Corp, Mustain.
this is not to say mustain won’t get better, but right now he appears to anxious.
August 19th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
I expected Mitch to be better, 8-0 in the SEC sounds impressive. But after seeing him in practice I had to look into that 8-0 record.
What jumps out is an anemic 894 yards passing in eight games, completing 69 out of 132 passes with 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
That 8-0 record doesn’t look that impressive anymore. A good QB has 800 yards in three or four games. That 8-0 record belongs to the arkansas running backs.
August 20th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Michael,
Good observations not seen in Papers or ESPN.
August 20th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
I saw his 8-0 run. It started against Vandy when the running game was shut down he throws 2 td’s to win the game. He overcame 3 picks against bama to throw the winner in OT on a play he checked out of. Nutt got upset that he checked out of that play and only let him throw it 10 times against Auburn. Those 10 led to a 17-7 lead they never gave up. as Nutt came more secure with his job he took the reins away from Mustain more and more. During the time that great running ame was on campus they were 8-0 with Mustain and 16-17 without Mustain. There were also 3 games in that run were they had blow out wins so he did not play as much. I am not saying Corp may not be better but I am just laying out the facts behind his 8-0 run.
August 20th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Eric,
You are aware that a strong running game is tremendous help to the passing game?
A passing game of 894 yards, with 52% completions, 10 TDs and 9 INTs.
I am just laying out the facts.
August 24th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Who is surprised by Mitch’s overthrows. Didn’t anyone see the Arkansas films? What’s worse is this, if Pete benches Mitch after an Interception, Mitch pouts, and spends the next two years saying ” The coach didn’t let me practice passing enough”. One set of downs against Virginia or OSU will finally put Beck Campell’s dreams to sleep.
August 25th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
Mitch’s passing yards at ARkansas look anemic b/c of Nuttball.
The team took a steep nose dive after Houston Nutt benched Mitch.
August 25th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
We will never get to see if Mitch can throw a pass or an interception at SC. He is officially 3rd behind a injured Sanchez, Freshman Corp and they decided to keep Green as a quarterback because of his understanding of the USC system. They should have Know that with a 19 ACT Mitch could not learn the complicated USC offensive sytem.
September 3rd, 2008 at 10:30 pm
John David Booty scored 14 on the Wonderlic test, which is the intelligence test given to players at the NFL combine. A score of 50 is perfect, 20-25 shows average intelligence. Booty tied with KY’s Andre Woodson for the lowest wonderlic of the incoming QB class.
I think It’s a matter of knowing/learning USC’s system, and I suspect also for Mitch, it’s getting acquainted to the level of defensive talent that he’s facing. He’s still climbing the learning curve, but apparently he’s still occasionally repeating mistakes in making bad reads or decisions. Playing QB is like being a doctor. First thing above all else is “Do no harm.” and that means no interceptions and no sacks. You’ve got to give your coaches that level of comfort that you will do no harm, and apparently Mitch is still making decisions that don’t give the coaching staff that comfort. He has flashes of brilliance, but also flashes of idiocy.
With so much time left in this season and their careers, the pecking order between Corp and Mustain is still fluid. If either one are ever pressed into active duty because of a Sanchez injury, the coaching staff will adjust the play calling to compensate for them. I think both backups are solid and given SC’s talent level, should be able to guide them to victory. Instead of the final score being 50-14, it’ll be 34-14.