Backfield bonanza: USC stacked at RB, enjoying the Booty

"Joe is the closest thing we've seen to Reggie since Reggie," Sarkisian said. "I think he saw what our offense was missing. In terms of Reggie, he saw where he fit."

Here's one man's assessment of how it will shake out:

Running backs

Washington (6-feet, 220, 744 yards in '06) will emerge as the starting tailback but one of the sophomores, probably Gable (6-1, 190, 434 yards), will be right behind because he also returns kicks. Moody (6-1, 195, 454 yards) will get a lot of time, too.

Assuming Dennis (5-11, 200, 109 yards in '04) gets his sixth year, it's going to be hard to deny him and Reed (5-9, 180, 12 yards). Reed is wearing a 15-pound knee brace but produced one of the brighter moments of the spring last week when he broke free on a screen for a 43-yard touchdown.

Dennis was good enough to start all of the 2003 season before the injuries set in. He says his twice-repaired knee is stronger than ever.

Look for McKnight to get into the mix in spots depending on his strengths. That's exactly how Bush started his career. If he's great early, he'll start. If not, there will be no pressure on him.

Carroll prefers a breakaway tailback to go along with a fullback who can block, run and catch. The staff loves redshirt freshman fullback Stanley Havili, who broke his leg last year.

"That is classically illustrated by Reggie and LenDale White," Carroll said. "We like that thunder-and-lightning thing. They were hugely productive. If it takes two or three guys to get that done, we'll figure it out."

That means limited playing time, position switches or transfers (maybe across town to UCLA, which has tailback issues) for the rest of the depth chart.

Quarterbacks

Sarkisian says Booty will be better now with strong legs underneath him after back surgery in March 2006.

"He doesn't have an opportunity to lift or run or get his body physically prepared," Sarkisian said. "As the year wore on you could see his body, his explosiveness, was not there."

With a month to heal and train, Booty came back and tied the Rose Bowl record with four touchdowns against Michigan. He'll be on several preseason All-American lists.

Sanchez is the poster child for Carroll's recruiting ability. He redshirted in 2005, threw only seven passes last year and will play behind Booty this season. That leaves two years, at the most, for him to start.

If Mustain comes in for 2008, he will be battling Sanchez and probably Corp for the starting job.

If he doesn't, Mustain can enjoy the parade.