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The next Palmer on board at USC? Posted: Friday April 04, 2003 2:06 AM
They say lightning is never supposed to strike the same place twice. At Evangel Christian Academy High School in Shreveport, La., it has happened time and time again, especially at the quarterback position. Think about the quarterbacks Evangel has produced over the past 10 years or so -- Josh Booty, Phillip Deas, Brock Berlin and Brent Rawls. Booty came out in the early 1990s and skipped college football initially to play baseball for the Florida Marlins before coming back and playing college football at LSU. Booty is now a backup with the Cleveland Browns. Deas went on to sign with North Carolina before transferring and Rawls is fighting for the starting quarterback position at Oklahoma. Berlin was widely regarded as the nation’s top prospect when he grauduated. He signed with Florida and has since transferred to Miami, where it looks like he will be the Hurricanes' starter this season. Now, it's John David Booty's turn at Evangel. The Southern California-bound senior-to-be will be one of the highest-rated overall prospects in the Class of 2004. Evangel has had five blue-chippers in the past 10 years or so, but the younger Booty may be the best of the bunch. Booty, at 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, runs in the 4.6 range. In two short years as the starter, he has thrown for 8,474 yards and 88 touchdowns. Last season as a junior, he threw for 3,956 yards and 37 touchdowns. Already fresh off a stellar recruiting class, USC will be the college destination for Booty. He made an early commitment to the Trojans after a recent, unofficial visit with his older brother, Josh. "They have great coaches and players," Booty said. "They need a quarterback since Carson [Palmer] turned pro. They are going up and I want to be a part of that. I really like coach [Pete] Carroll and coach [Norm] Chow. I spent the last few days there and I like this place. I knew where I wanted to go. It's great to get recruiting out of the way and now I can concentrate on my senior season." The Trojans were secretly the clear-cut leader for Booty for months and the trip to Los Angeles reinforced the idea of becoming a Trojan. "I have thought for about four months that USC was were I really wanted to go. Honestly, there was no one else and I mean that. It has been USC all the way. I want to play in the NFL and I know that coach Carroll and coach Chow can prepare me for that." Amazingly, Southern Cal picks up right where it left off on Signing Day 2003. The Trojans closed strong with one of the nation’s best recruiting classes. They finished a close third overall, just behind LSU and Florida. Along the way, they signed a ton of talent on the offensive side of the football with the lone exception of quarterback. "You know what, [this year's recruiting class] played a part in my decision too. I followed what they did and it is exciting to think I will play with those running backs [Chauncey Washington, Reggie Bush and Lendale White] and receivers [Whitney Lewis and Steve Smith]. They signed some great offensive linemen too. I met Whitney and Steve when I was on campus last weekend and they seem like great guys that I really want to play with." The ironic thing about the recruiting process with Booty is destiny. Was he destined to be a Southern Cal Trojan all along? "Two years ago, I wanted to go to Miami," he said. "Brock [Berlin] was transferring there and that’s where I was set on going. At this time last year, everyone had Kyle Wright headed to USC and instead, he picks Miami and now I am headed to USC. I guess it’s destiny for me and USC. God wanted it this way." In the summer of 2001, Booty was an Elite 11 ball boy. At the Elite 11, a ball boy is an underclassman who has a chance to be an actually participant as a senior in this prestigious quarterback camp. They throw a ton of balls but are also there to assist in setting up tables, cleaning up trash and other duties. Every time Booty threw, no one could believe he was just a rising sophomore. Pac-10 Fox Sports analyst Tom Ramsey came out to watch the camp and the first person he asked about was Booty. Houston Texans offensive coordinator Chris Palmer came out to scout some of the college counselors there including David Carr, Palmer and Kurt Kittner. Like Ramsey, the first guy Palmer commented on was Booty. "Who's that kid?" Palmer said. "He has dynamite in his elbow." In terms of his arm strength, accuracy and mobility, Booty was probably the most impressive quarterback at the camp with the exception of Carr, who later became the top pick in the draft. Ben Olson (BYU), Trent Edwards (Stanford) and Tyler Palko (Pitt) were probably the top three senior quarterbacks of the camp, but none could compare with Booty. Physically, Booty has all the tools but just as impressive is how strong he is mentally and how sharp he is at reading defenses. "John David is so unique," Evangel Christian Academy head coach Dennis Dunn said. "He has got to watch them all -- Josh [Booty], Phillip [Deas], Brock [Berlin] and Brent [Rawls]. He grew up in our system and studied all these great quarterbacks' strengths and weaknesses. John David put them in his own package. "He has Josh's big arm, the speed of his other brother Abram [Booty], he is a student of the game like Phillip, he has the tenacity of Brent and the competitiveness of Brock. It is really neat how he has put it together. John David has great feet and pinpoint accuracy. He is a prototype quarterback but has the ability to move."
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