Spring football: USC's QB battle, more burning Pac-10 questions

Aaron Corp, who finished 2008 as Mark Sanchez's backup, may have a leg up in the USC quarterback competition. Shelly Castellano/Icon SMI PAC-10 spring football schedule School Start Spring game Arizona March 4 April 4 Arizona State March 24 April 28 California March 10 April 18 Oregon March 30 May 2 Oregon State March 30 May 2 Stanford Feb. 24 April 13 UCLA April 2 April 24 USC March 28 April 25 Washington March 31 April 25 Washington State March 26 April 25 Andy Staples's Mailbag Have questions or feedback? E-mail Andy Staples. Name: Email: Hometown: Question: SEND Follow Andy Staples on Twitter

Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh laughs at your silly seasonal designations. Harbaugh needs no vernal equinox. Spring sprang in Palo Alto on Feb. 24.

That's when the Cardinal took the field for the first day of spring practice, tying Miami for the earliest start of the year. Harbaugh had good reason to thumb his nose at the Weather Channel Industrial Complex. He has devised a schedule that will stretch to the spring game on April 13 and that includes a three-week break after practice No. 8 that will allow players to study for exams (Week 1), take their tests (Week 2) and then blow off some academic steam at Mexican resorts that sell margaritas by the drum (Week 3).

"The philosophy is to get the best team possible to training camp, so it's the model of an NFL minicamp type of setup," Harbaugh said in an interview with the program's official Web site. "There are a lot of bonuses for us. No. 1, you feel like the trajectory of practice is always going upward. You don't get to practice 10 or 11 and have things kind of level out."

Like Harbaugh, we don't need the earth's poles to form a 180-degree angle before we begin asking questions about spring football. The games don't count until September, but the 2009 season begins now.

Who will start at quarterback for USC?

We all know Pete Carroll would prefer to still have Mark Sanchez under center, but Sanchez ignored his coach's advice and declared for the NFL draft. But since this is USC, the cupboard isn't exactly bare. This spring, Aaron Corp (Rivals.com's No. 3 dual-threat quarterback in the class of 2007), Mitch Mustain (No. 2 quarterback in the class of 2006), Garrett Green (No. 6 dual-threat quarterback in the class of 2006) and Matt Barkley (No. 1 quarterback in the class of 2009) will all compete for the job. They'll have to impress offensive coordinator John Morton, who spent the past two seasons as USC's receivers coach, as well as first-year quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates.

The USC quarterback race hasn't been this wide-open since 2003, when Matt Leinart beat out a future millionaire named Matt Cassel. Mustain, who led Arkansas to eight wins in 2006, has the most experience. Of course, Darren McFadden and Felix Jones deserve much of the credit for those wins. Corp finished last season as Sanchez's backup, so he may have a leg up in the competition. Green seems like the odd man out, especially considering the hype surrounding Barkley, a four-year starter at Leinart's alma mater, Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.). Given that "always compete" is one of Carroll's mantras, it seems unlikely the staff will squelch the competition before August. So unless one of the quarterbacks seriously distances himself from the pack, don't expect to know the identity of USC's starter for a few months.

The Pac-10 quarterback derby extends beyond USC, however. At Stanford, two-year incumbent Tavita Pritchard must ward off challenges from redshirt freshman Andrew Luck and junior Alex Loukas. Meanwhile at Arizona State, Danny Sullivan, Chasen Stangel, Samson Szakacsy and Jack Elway (yes, of the Denver Elways) will compete to replace Rudy Carpenter, who started 43 consecutive games for the Sun Devils.

Is the football monopoly in Los Angeles over yet?

Not for a while. USC fans flooded my inbox after National Signing Day when I dared suggest UCLA's head-to-head success against the Trojans on the recruiting trail this year portended brighter days for the Bruins. Those fans failed to notice the caveat; Rick Neuheisel's newest recruits won't mature for a while. He still has to play with most of the group that went 4-8 last season and closed with a 28-7 loss to USC. Still, there is reason to hope in Westwood. Safety Rahim Moore started as a true freshman and earned honorable mention All Pac-10. Meanwhile, 2009 signees Morrell Presley and Richard Brehaut will participate in spring practice. Presley is a 6-foot-4, 215-pound tight end/receiver hybrid who might find a place in Norm Chow's offense early. Brehaut, meanwhile, is a blue-chip quarterback from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.