Mitch Mustain Goes from USC Quarterback to Broken NFL Prospect

Former USC quarterback Mitch Mustain will almost certainly never play in the NFL. His right arm now no more valuable than yours or mine.

Once upon a time Mustain was a high school recruit pursued with uncommon vigor by a number of dominant college football programs, his star clearly on the rise. It all must have seemed certain back then. It all must have seemed like a promise that couldn't be broken.

But now, as he sits in jail, unable to make bail after being arrested for selling prescription drugs, we know Mustain's true destiny—obscurity.

We know of course that the dream began shattering long ago and things never quite clicked for Mustain. An Arkansas kid unable to hold down the starting spot with the Razorbacks after coach Houston Nutt sat the pure freshman in favor of "experience." Mustain would sit out the 2007 season and transfer to USC after his demotion at Arkansas but a parade of more gifted quarterbacks always seemed to stand in his way.

Sure Mustain could have potentially rolled the residual high school buzz and decent reserve play at USC into a late-round pick like Matt Cassel did. Maybe sign on someplace as an undrafted free agent if that didn't work out.

But now even that seems far-fetched and a guy who had previously worried about keeping his football career alive must now focus on resurrecting his life.

(Updated 2/3/2011 3:20pm EST)

County prosecutors will not bring charges against Mustain. The former USC quarterback had been detained for selling adderall to an undercover police officer. After further analysis though the substance turned out to be lisdexamfetamine dimesylate which is not on the controlled substance list according to the LA Times.

One imagines that getting arrested for selling fake drugs and not real ones does little to help Mustain's football future.