John David Booty videoJohn David Booty Conference CallSunday Press Conference
Overview Having produced Heisman Trophy quarterbacks in recent years with Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart, the Trojans coaching staff felt it had the perfect candidate for the award in 2007. But Booty didn't strike Heisman gold with injury and inconsistency setting him back. Booty comes from a family rich in football tradition, which made his journey out West something that the youngster felt he needed to do to establish his own identity. John David's brother, Josh, was a quarterback for the Cleveland Browns who played at LSU for two seasons (1999-2000) following a five-year (1994-98) baseball career as an infielder in the Florida Marlins organization (including 13 games in the majors). Another brother, Abram, was a wide receiver at LSU (1997-1999) and Valdosta State (2001). His father, Johnny, played quarterback at Arkansas, Louisiana Tech and Mississippi State, then, coached football at Evangel Christian, where John David Booty rose to national prominence as one of the top prep quarterbacks. At Evangel Christian Academy, Booty earned Student Sports Underclass All-American and Class 5A All-State honors as a sophomore and junior. In 2002, he led his team to the Class 5A state title while throwing for 4,144 yards and 38 touchdowns. He also led the squad to the Class 5A state title as a 2001 sophomore, passing for 4,330 yards and 50 scores. During his freshman campaign, Booty completed 9-of-11 passes. In his career, he threw for 8,474 yards on 555-of-864 passing (64.2%) with 88 touchdowns and 26 interceptions. Because Louisiana rules allow junior high students to compete on high school teams if the school is a K-12 school, he actually played varsity football for Evangel Christian since the seventh grade. Prior to his senior year, Booty's father was fired a the team's quarterbacks coach at the Academy and the youngster decided to bypass football that season, opting for early enrollment at Southern California. Asked why he skipped his senior year of high school, the quarterback replied, "Because my dad was fired as our quarterbacks coach, I felt like it was time for me to move on. I felt like I was standing up for my dad and for what I want." Booty did not see action during the first five games of his 2003 freshman season with the Trojans. Booty eventually saw limited mop-up action in five games in '03, finishing with 90 yards on 7-of-14 passes (50.0%), but lost 10 yards on a rushing attempt, as he missed the final two contests with a left wrist fracture suffered in the UCLA game. Listed third on the depth chart in 2004, a badly bruised elbow in fall camp forced the coaching staff to grant Booty a medical hardship. With Matt Leinart having won the 2004 Heisman Trophy, Booty anticipated taking over quarterback duties in '05 at USC, but Leinart opted to return for his senior year, relegating the youngster to second on the QB depth chart. For the 2005 campaign, Booty appeared briefly in 10 games. He threw for 327 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions on 27-of-42 attempts (64.3%) and amassed 316 yards in total offense. On his way to the NFL, Leinart had a few thoughts about his successor, saying, With Leinart gone, the 2006 season was Booty's "coming out party," but he was limited in spring camp with a herniated disc in his back that required surgery in late March. He returned to the field fully recovered by fall drills, where he executed the offensive game plan flawlessly. Late 2006 season struggles, especially in upset losses to Oregon State and UCLA left his junior season unfulfilled, but Booty still ranked first in the Pac-10 Conference in pass efficiency (144.0 rating), total offense (253.38 yards per game), points responsible for (13.85 points per game), passing yards (3,347), passing yards per game (257.46 ypg) and pass completions (20.69). For the campaign, he connected on 269-of-436 passes (61.7%) for 3,347 yards, 29 touchdowns and only nine interceptions. He also piled up 3,294 yards in total offense and came up with one solo tackle. His accuracy impressed USC offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Steve Sarkisian, who said, "Booty is like Greg Maddux in the way he can put the ball in the spot it needs to be." Booty continued his slow improvement in 2007. During the early stages of his final season, the Trojans relied more on the running game. He then suffered a middle finger fracture on his throwing hand after suffering four interceptions in an upset loss to Stanford. The injury would sideline him for the Arizona, Notre Dame and Oregon losses. He played with renewed vigor upon his return, throwing just two more interceptions while connecting on 11 touchdown passes in his five contests. The team captain and All-Pac 10 Conference honorable mention finished his senior season by completing 215 of 340 attempts for 2,361 yards (63.2%), 23 touchdowns and ten interceptions. He scored once on the ground and gained 2,255 yards in total offense, san average of 225.5 yards per game in the ten contests he appeared in. In 38 games at Southern California, Booty started 23 times. He threw for 6,125 yards on 518-of-832 passes (62.3%), with 55 touchdowns and 21 interceptions. He rushed 61 times for losses totaling 180 yards (minus-3.0-yard average), scoring twice on the ground. In 893 plays, he totaled 5,945 yards, averaging 156.45 yards in total offense per game. Career Notes Booty ranks eighth in school history with 893 offensive plays from quarterback, as his 5,945 yards in total offense ranks sixth in USC annals behind Carson Palmer (11,621 yards, 1998-2002), Matt Leinart (10,623 yards (2002-05), Rodney Peete (8,640 yards (1985-88), Rob Johnson (7,896 yards, 1991-94) and Charles White (6,240 yards, 1976-79)...His 3,294 yards in total offense in 2006 rank fifth on the school's all-time list, topped by Matt Leinart (3,851 in 2005 and 3,494 in 2003), Carson Palmer (3,820 in 2002) and Rob Johnson (3,425 in 1993)...Booty threw for 6,125 yards as a Trojan, ranking fifth in school history behind Carson Palmer (11,818), Matt Leinart (10,693), Rob Johnson (8,472) and Rodney Peete (8,225)...Only Peete (630), Johnson (676), Leinart (807) and Palmer (927) had more pass completions at USC than Booty's 518...His 55 touchdown passes placed him fourth in Trojans annals behind Palmer (72), Leinart (99) and Johnson (58)...His pass completion percentage of .623 rank third on the school's career-record list behind Leinart (.648) and Johnson (.646)...Threw at least one touchdown in 26 games and had multiple touchdown passes in 17 contests...Passed for over 200 yards in a game 19 times during his career...Booty's 436 pass attempts in 2006 rank third on the school record list behind Carson Palmer (489 in 2002) and Rob Johnson (449 in 1993)...His 29 touchdown passes in 2006 tied Johnson for fourth on USC's annual record chart, surpassed only my Carson Palmer (33 in 2002) and Matt Leinart (33 in 2004, 38 in 2003)...His 269 pass completions in 2006 tied Matt Leinart (2003) for fourth-best in a season by a Trojans quarterback, as only Palmer (309 in 2002), Rob Johnson (308 in 1993) and Leinart (283 in 2005) had more successful passes in a season at USC...His 3,347 yards passing in 2006 rank fifth on the school's single-season list behind Palmer (3,942 in 2002), Johnson (3,630 in 1993) and Matt Leinart (3,815 in 2005 and 3,556 in 2003). High School Attended Evangel (Shreveport, La.) Academy...Earned Student Sports Underclass All-American and Class 5A All-State honors as a sophomore and junior...In 2002, he led his team to the Class 5A state title while throwing for 4,144 yards and 38 touchdowns...Also led the squad to the Class 5A state title as a 2001 sophomore, passing for 4,330 yards and 50 scores...During his freshman campaign, Booty completed 9-of-11 passes...During his career, he threw for 8,474 yards on 555-of-864 passing (64.2%) with 88 touchdowns and 26 interceptions...Because Louisiana rules allow junior high students to compete on high school teams if the school is a K-12 school, he actually played some varsity football for Evangel Christian as a seventh-grader...Prior to his senior year, his father was fired as the quarterbacks coach at the Academy and Booty decided to bypass football that season. Analysis Positives: Has a linear build with adequate muscle thickness and good size for his position...Shows good acceleration on the move and runs with a normal stride...Has the balance and agility to step up and avoid pressure and enough functional hip swerve to slide in the pocket...Has a business-like approach to the game and has been well tutored on how to run an offense, thanks to his family's deep football tradition...Shows the confidence in his arm strength to air the ball out and make all of the throws...Does a decent job of adjusting to game action on the field, but must be quicker in making those decisions at times (will look a bit confused when forced out of the pocket)...Has enough strength to step up and absorb the hit when the pocket collapses...Has the body control to drop back quickly from center to his throwing point, but is best when throwing from the pocket...Throws with zip, but must do it with better consistency...Generally makes good decisions, except when pressured...Has adequate toughness in the pocket and will deliver the ball on time when given proper protection...Has a take-charge attitude in the huddle and the players all respect his leadership ability...Might be a better fit for a short-to-intermediate or West Coast passing attack, as he shows much better accuracy and timing when he sets his feet properly and puts zip on the ball to connect with his targets coming out of their breaks (has a better feel for taking something off the ball working underneath on his short throws and has better accuracy working in this area)...Has adequate slide agility trying to escape from the rush (lacks foot quickness), but will buy time with his strength absorbing hits in the pocket...Once he locates the blitz, he is very efficient at getting the ball out quickly to connect with his target in stride...Showed vast improvement in 2007 in attempts to scan the field and locate his secondary targets (would like on to his primary receiver too much in 2006), showing good accuracy on crossing routes...Has decent awareness to blitzes and stunts, doing a nice job of making adjustments during the pre-snap (has become a much better progression reader) or when reading coverage as he is dropping back to his throw point, demonstrating the ability to check down quickly...Has much better timing throwing over the middle than when firing along the sidelines...Better when throwing from the right hash, but is more comfortable when he steps up in the pocket, as he works well when given time to scan the field and find where his receivers should be than throwing on the move (has better velocity throwing from the right than at the left hash). Negatives: Has good balance, but lacks the speed to gain valid yardage with his feet or the cutback agility to redirect when the rushing lanes are clogged...Has decent size, but must improve his overall strength to absorb pocket pressure (has had some durability issues with his back, right elbow and left wrist)...Will step up in the pocket under pressure, but lacks elusiveness in attempts to avoid the rush...Is usually cool under pressure, but is prone to poor decision-making and will force the ball into traffic at times rather than throw passes away...Smart player, but needs more than a few reps to retain plays...Demonstrates inconsistent velocity when airing the ball out, lacking that explosive release to consistently get the ball deep into the seams...Struggles at times to generate a fluid delivery when forced to throw on the move...Even though he has a decent release, he throws from a three-quarters delivery and will drop the ball down to wind up and release, causing his velocity to suffer...Has trouble following through when throwing under duress...Must throw the deep ball with better touch, as he does not always generate the arm strength needed when attacking the deep third of the secondary, causing the ball to float (has the distance, but must be more consistent with the zip behind his throws) or remain too high for his receivers to run under it without having to break off their routes...Will get brave and loft the ball up or force it into a crowd...Looks confused, holding the ball too long while failing to locate the open target...Is more of a functional passer who lacks creativity and will struggle with his touch for long stretches...Must scan the field better when attacking the deep zone, as he tends to just hoist the ball up rather than feather the ball over the defender to the outside shoulder of the receiver...Does not have the foot quickness to step away from pressure, roll out and adjust...Will go through stretches where he would lock on to his primary target and fail to scan the field for safer options to get the ball to...Lacks sudden moves when the pocket collapses and is a bit of a liability when forced to throw from the left hash. Compares To: PATRICK RAMSEY-Broncos...Booty is not the next "great" quarterback to be produced by the Trojans' factory, but is an efficient passer with good accuracy when operating in the short-to-intermediate passing range. Like Ramsey, Booty won't ever be a threat with his feet and is better served throwing from the pocket than when on the move. He is quick in his ability to get to his throwing point, but does struggle to be fluid in his delivery. He has made progress in locating his secondary targets, but when he starts getting confused and locking on to the receiver, bad things happen, as he tends to hold the ball too long, resulting in a costly sack or having to fire it into a crowd. There is enough athletic talent to earn him a roster spot and he could eventually become a starter, but there are just too many holes in his game right now to ever consider him a franchise-type quarterback. Injury Report 2003: Suffered a left wrist fracture vs. UCLA (11/22), missing the final two contests vs. Oregon State and Michigan (Rose Bowl). 2004: Was granted a medical hardship after he sustained a badly bruised right elbow in fall drills. 2006: Underwent surgery in late March to repair a herniated disc in his back. 2007: Suffered a broken middle finger on his throwing hand (right) vs. Stanford (10/06), sitting out the Arizona (10/13), Notre Dame (10/20) and Oregon (10/27) games. Copyright NFLDraftScout.com, distributed by The Sports Xchange.