Conference Call – 5th-Round Pick QB John David Booty
Q: Do you think the USC system helped you prepare for the pro game?
A: Yeah, I think there is no doubt being that Coach (Lane) Kiffin is with the Raiders and (Steve) Sarkisian has been up under Norv Turner with the Raiders for a year, and even (Norm) Chow at Tennessee. It’s all the same stuff that all of these teams are doing in the NFL, so I think there is no question that it has benefited me for the next level.
Q: What clicked for you at the end of the year when you came on strong?
A: I got healthy. I had the broken hand early in the season. The first couple of games we came out and we were playing really well and I just got the broken hand and had to miss the three games. Once I came back everybody got healthy and (I) was able to get on the same page with the young receivers. I didn’t have much time because I missed part of the games and they had some injuries as well, so it took us really the last about four or five games to start clicking the way we wanted to all year long.
Q: Had the Vikings talked to you much before the draft?
A: Oh yeah, yeah. I met with them at the Senior Bowl and I talked with their coaches after the practices and met with them there and all of that and knew that they were interested. I just didn't know you know how high or low they would end up taking a quarterback or when I would still be around, late or early. I didn't know.
Q: Is there anything in particular about Minnesota’s West Coast offense that you think fits your skills? A: I just think the West Coast. I love that offense. I love the throws that I have to make based on all of our reads, and it's really all I know. For me it's something I really enjoy and really I think it fits my abilities very well. I think I am very accurate and make good decisions and that is what the West Coast offense is all about.
Q: Coming to a team that a lot of people aren't convinced has an established quarterback, is that an advantage for you that you can come in and compete for at least for the second job initially? A: Yeah, I mean that is really people on the outside. All of us athletes know that any player in the NFL is a great player and I know Tarvaris (Jackson) is. I just want to come in there and I’m a big team guy. I just want to get in there and talk with him and learn as much as I can from him. He’s got a year under his belt now and the other veteran guys as well. Just get in there and be a part of the team and just practice my butt off and compete and try to do the best I can.
Q: Of the quarterbacks that USC has had recently like Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart, do you compare to one of them in terms of style?
A: I try to be a mixture of both. The way Leinart managed the game and protected the football and really never put us in bad situations was something that I really tried to take from him and add that to my game. Then Carson had a little bit more of the, not like (Brett) Favre I would say, but would kind of be creative and make stuff happen and I tried to kind of take that and add that to my game as well. Really, Leinart is the one I was able to follow and study underneath because I was there with him for three years. Carson left right before I came in, so really all I have seen from him was just watching him in the NFL and the games I did when he was at SC. From Leinart, just tried to take everything I could in from the time with him and not only on the field, but off the field as well.
Q: Do you think you can be a starting quarterback in this league, and if so, how soon?
A: You know, I don't know. I have to get there and see but I definitely think I have the ability to be a player in this league. It’s been a dream my whole life to get this opportunity and I have it now and I just want to make the most of it but I think there is no question that I have the ability to play in the NFL.
Q: You waited a long time to get a shot at USC, what was that like?
A: At first I really understood. I skipped my senior year of high school so when I was a freshman at SC I was supposed to be a senior in high school and actually became the backup within…I was only here for a month. I came right before camp and was the backup by the first game of the season. I had to learn the offense pretty quick but I didn't quite grasp it all in a month. It’s a pretty complex offense to learn in that short amount of time but I really understood what my role was and that I wasn't going to get a chance to play but I just had to sit out and learn and develop. I am so grateful today that I did.
Q: Being a starting quarterback at USC, is there a lot of pressure on you especially considering the players that have come before you have been successful in the NFL?
A: Oh yeah, it’s huge. It's huge. Just dealing with the LA media itself on a daily basis; it’s every day. Especially you are following two Heisman Trophy winners who both were top 10 picks and all those things. So you are always getting compared to those guys, but for me that’s how I like it. I want to be compared to those guys and hopefully here in a couple of years they'll consider me a great quarterback at USC, winning back-to-back Rose Bowls.
Q: Did Pete Carroll do a lot of hands-on coaching with you or did he delegate to the offensive coaches?
A: Not so much really out on the field but he would come into the meetings and kind work us through things or give us tips of whatever he saw going into that week versus a team just by watching their defense. He could key something they were doing that would give us a pre-snap read or anything like that. On the field he would talk to us briefly but he really tried to prepare the defense for the most part.
Q: Some of the Mel Kiper-types of the world say that you don't throw the deep ball well. Do you think that is an overrated stat?
A: No, I just think it's not true because that was not really part of our offense. It has nothing to do with me or Leinart or any of those guys. If you really go back and watch, our offense isn't built on throwing a deep ball. We have never really had the true burner, go get it guy. They are all kind of big like Mike Williams, big, use their body, Steve Smith, a possession guy. We never had those real burners, so for us that was never part of our offense and I think that is a little bit of why I get knocked for that. At my Pro Day, that was really something I tried to emphasize on was showing that I could do that and I had a pretty good day with it. So hopefully they saw that I could if I need to but when in the game do you throw the ball 70 yards?
Q: When did you feel you were 100 percent last season after the injuries?
A: Probably the Arizona State game, the Arizona State game last year.
A: Oh, I am great. I am good to go, 100% with everything. I am just really excited.
Q: Going into this process, what was your expectation of where you might be taken?
A: I had just really been told second or third (round) and they had said Chicago or Tampa, teams like that. When they were getting up they were making trades and getting other picks and I just continued to fall and fall and I actually fell right to where I wanted to be.
Q: Were you watching the draft on ESPN or NFL Network?
A: Yes, bits and pieces of it. Not all day; that thing is so long (laughing). It’s so long. I couldn't sit in front of the TV all day but I was checking it here and there and my brother had the phone where he was getting the emails or updates after every pick.