Mitch Mustain, Don't Lose Heart

At first blush, it seems so damn unfair.

And in the long run, perhaps it will turn out that way.

When Mitch Mustain followed his good friend and high school teammate, Damien Williams to USC, it seemed that it would only be a matter of time before the highly regarded prep quarterback from Arkansas would find fame for the Men of Troy.

After all, Mustain had led the Arkansas Razorbacks to eight wins as a freshman before the fallout between Houston Nutt and his offensive coordinator (and some players) resulted in the transfer of Mustain and Williams and the resignation of Nutt.

Last year, Mustain had seen some garbage time in relief of Mark Sanchez and had performed reasonably well.

Then, Sanchez shocked Pete Carroll and declared for the draft, opening the door for Mustain and Aaron Corp, another highly regarded young quarterback from Orange Lutheran high school.

Except that there was another competitor for the job.

Matt Barkley came into his freshman year as the number one high school recruit in the nation according to many rating services.

Barkley has lived up to that and more.

When spring practice ended, Aaron Corp was tabbed as the starter due to his steady play, firm grasp of the playbook and his exceptional quickness.

However, instead of Mustain claiming the backup to Corp and being only a injury away from starting, Mustain was relegated to third string with the freshman Barkley tabbed as the backup.

Matt Barkley has now replaced the injured Corp for the starting position and Mitch Mustain has become the forgotten man.

Despite some very good practices where he has outperformed Barkley, Mustain has little chance of overcoming both Barkley and Corp, and it isn't because Mustain lacks the talent.

Mustain has had some problems learning the offense, but even that isn't the problem.

The problem for Mustain is that Barkley has been anointed as the chosen one and Aaron Corp has outperformed Mustain throughout both spring and fall camps.

Yet, for all the trials and tribulations that Mustain is going through, there is still hope to be found.

That hope can be found in the form of one Matt Cassel.

Cassel, who couldn’t find the field for the Trojans while playing mostly behind Matt Leinart, instead found riches in 2009 by signing a lucrative contract with the Kansas City Chiefs after a very successful season stepping in for the injured Tom Brady in 2008.

Mustain, who by all accounts is very talented, just needs to take heart that the end of the road is not found in Los Angeles, but rather in a more convoluted road that leads to a NFL team.

Certainly, now that Cassel has established a precedent for a backup quarterback from USC to find success in the NFL, Mustain can follow that path if he too can find a patient team such as the Patriots and a coach willing to invest the time in him.

So while Mitch Mustain may not find the field for the USC Trojans, he may still find a path to riches monetarily and success on the gridiron.