As of last night, it became official that USC quarterback Mark Sanchez would be entering the 2009 NFL draft, where he is likely to become a top ten draft pick and possibly even the first quarterback selected.

So, with the departure of Sanchez, head coach Pete Carroll has made it quite clear that either, junior Mitch Mustain, sophomore Aaron Corp, or highly touted true freshman Matt Barkley, will become the next USC quarterback.

Whichever five-star prospect is selected to take over the reigns at quarterback will inherit a pretty good offense, as the Trojans return nine starters. The only departure besides Sanchez is wide receiver Patrick Turner. So whoever is tabbed to be Sanchez’s successor will likely perform pretty well under center.

The only question is who that guy will be. 

Many are already pegging Arkansas transfer Mitch Mustain, who was the 2005 Gatorade, USA Today and Parade Magazine national prep player of the year, as the team’s starter. As the starter for the Razorbacks back in 2006, Mustain led the team to an 8-0 mark before being benched by then-head coach Houston Nutt.

Mustain is highly regarded for his powerful arm and ability to make plenty of deep throws. However, his arm can also get him into plenty of trouble as he has a tendency to believe that arm he force balls into tight spaces. This caused him to throw nine interceptions while at Arkansas.

Former Orange Lutheran quarterback and Parade All-American. Aaron Corp could have an advantage over Mustain since he’s a tad bit taller and a lot more mobile than Mustain. In most cases, I might give Corp an edge due to his athleticism but SC’s offense has never truly valued a dual-threat quarterback. However, that could possibly change with new offensive John Morton.

I think at this point, it’s nearly impossible to know which quarterback will emerge from the pack. During the regular season, the backup job alternated between Mustain and Corp a number of times. No true number two emerged.

A wild card in the competition could be incoming freshmen, Mater Dei’s Matt Barkley, who also happens to be the number one player on the ESPNU’s list of the top 150 prospects in the country.

However, Barkley winning the job, would break the Pete Carroll’s pattern of valuing experience over potential (see: Matt Leinart beating out John David Booty, Booty beating out Sanchez, and Sanchez beating out Corp and Mustain).

In the end, I see either Corp or Mustain becoming the starting quarterback for USC in 2009.

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