Aaron Corp Becoming Next Likely QB to Have Career Peak While at USC

It looks as though sophomore quarterback Aaron Corp is the leader in the race to fill the vacancy under center left by first-round draft pick Mark Sanchez. Corp, in a battle with Mitch Mustain (Arkansas transfer) and Matt Barkley (freshman, enrolled in January following his early graduation from Mater Dei High School), has apparently taken the lead due to his early consistency and solid grasp of the Trojans’ offensive schemes.

Starting quarterback for the USC Trojans; something that may make you think, “guaranteed success.” However that success generally last only a couple years and suspiciously runs its course by the time that individual reaches the NFL.

I hate to break the news to Corp, but his case will be no different. It’s as simple as taking a look at history of USC quarterback’s who made it to the pro ranks.

Rob Johnson:

Johnson left USC owning nearly every passing record imaginable, thanks in large part to having teammates such as Keyshawn Johnson, Curtis Conway, and Johnnie Morton. In his final game at USC, Johnson led the Trojans to a 55-14 Cotton Bowl victory over Texas Tech, one of the final times he would have success throwing a football. Johnson would go on to play for six different teams during his tenure as an NFL quarterback amassing only 30 touchdowns during that span of nine years (1995-2004). Now when I hear the name Rob Johnson I’m more inclined to think of the Emmy-Award winning news anchor…I don’t know who should be more embarrassed by that, me or the former USC quarterback.

Rodney Peete:

What an athlete. What a collegiate sports star. What a waste of space in the NFL. Rodney’s senior season at USC saw Peete become the first Trojan to win the Johnny Unitas Award (nation’s best senior quarterback) and finish second to Barry Sanders in the Heisman voting. He even managed to be drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the MLB draft after a stellar career manning third base in the Trojan infield. Well apparently Peete chose the wrong sport to pursue. His NFL career can certainly only be defined as mediocre as he threw 76 TD to 92 INT and finished with a 73.3 QB rating. Although he did manage to stay in the league for 16 seasons, Peete was primarily a backup…maybe Rodney was doomed from the start given the fact that he was drafted by the Detroit Lions? [Read more...]