Pac 10 Preview: Shoe Filling Time

As is the norm, there are big names who have moved on down the road in the Pac 10. From bowl-winning QB's to standout running backs, the list is a long one. But clearly one of the most exciting things about an upcoming season of college football is always the element of the unknown. What young players are waiting in the wings? What hotshot recruit with all the whispers that he is going to be special will finally be unleashed for public consumption? But as is usually the case, the young replacements come in to take the spots of some pretty established players who leave a large body of work behind them. With that, we look at the five biggest Pac 10 shoes that must be filled and the candidates to replace them.

JOHN DAVID BOOTY, QB, USC

The QB position for USC is always a glamor spot, and a perfect place to start. John David Booty came into the 2007 season as everyone's Heisman favorite, and for good reason. Booty was coming off a 2006 breakthrough performance, throwing for over 3300 yards and 29 TD's. But while USC went 11-2, won a share of the conference title, and Booty capped off his senior season with a fine performance in a Rose Bowl blowout of Illinois, still, things didn't quite work out. He threw for nearly 1,000 fewer yards in 2007 than he had the prior year. A broken finger on his throwing hand had a lot to do with it, and he even missed three games due to the injured digit. But that said, Booty was more about stats. He was a leader and a winner, and could be more difficult to replace than originally thought.

This year we find out if Mark Sanchez is the answer. Or will we? Sanchez, as was reported last week, suffered a dislocated knee cap during non-contact drills. While still not 100% officially ruled out for the season opener at Virginia, the latest report has his status very much up in the air. Meanwhile, Arkansas transfer Mitch Mustain and redshirt frosh Aaron Corp will run the offense in a job that suddenly appears wide open.

It could be worse though. Mustain didn't go completely bananas at Arkansas, throwing for a modest 894 yards in eight starts as a true frosh year in 2006. But he did go a perfect 8-0 as a starter, so, he's got that going for him. Which is good.

DENNIS DIXON, QB, OREGON

One of the top players in the conference last year and a legit Heisman candidate until a blown-out knee destroyed his season, Dennis Dixon fit the new Oregon offense like a glove. Long, lean, athletic beyond belief and most of all an unbelievable feel for the spread read-option, Dixon made all the right decisions early and often. You have to wonder what could have been had the knee held up, because Oregon was a few victories away from BCS title game consideration. Of course, Dixon went down, and the season went with it.

Nate Costa and Justin Roper are in line to take the reins at Oregon, but things still need to shake out. Costa has the buzz as the next good one at Oregon, an athletic, heady kid who appears to be a perfect fit in the offensive system. But Costa has barely played, with only a handful of snaps as in 2006 and then he tore his ACL last year, missing the entire season. So not only is Costa green, but coming off a major injury.

Roper is still in the mix, and he did show some promise in the Sun Bowl last year, throwing four TD passes in a runaway win over South Florida. Whether it's Costa or Roper, the winner of the job will have his hands full in trying to replace a presence like Dennis Dixon.

ALEX BRINK, QB, WASHINGTON STATE

The top passer in WSU history, Alex Brink departs WSU as a major stat guy, throwing for over 10,000 yards in his career. He also has those three wins in four tries against hated Washington, the only WSU QB to pull that off.

But fair or not, a lot of blame has been laid at his feet in regards to the team not getting back to it's winning ways established at the beginning of the decade, when the Cougars had three straight ten win seasons. Brink wasn't widely recruited by BCS schools coming out of high school, and looked more like a cross-country runner than big-time QB when he first stepped foot in Pullman. While Brink wasn't the most gifted guy around, he did manage to get the most out of what he had.

But it is a new beginning in Pullman with Paul Wulff and offensive coordinator Todd Sturdy. The one-back offense implemented way back by Dennis Erickson and continued on with Mike Price is history, as WSU will implement a no-huddle offense with multiple looks. Senior QB Gary Rogers finally gets a shot after backing up Brink the last three years. But despite being a senior, Rogers hasn't been on the field a whole lot, attempting just 16 passes last year in mop-up duty. Rogers has the tools NFL scouts dream of, a huge guy at 6-7, 235, surprisingly mobile for a guy his size, and blessed with an absolute rocket of a right arm. But will he fit with the new offense? As the backup last year, Rogers was just about the most popular guy on the team among fans who dreamed of seeing the next Drew Bledsoe or Ryan Leaf (the college version anyway). We'll see if the "brinkhaters" were right about Rogers.

JONATHAN STEWART, RB, OREGON

After starting off his career as a flashy player but not quite breaking through, Jonathan Stewart exploded to a school record 1722 rushing yards last year. Stewart was fast, physical and fit perfectly in the new read option offense employed by offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. Maybe the most impressive thing about Stewart was not just his rushing totals, but even with 280 rushing attempts, he still averaged 6.2 yards per carry. That, my friend, is big time.

There is a decent pool of candidates to replace Stewart, but most likely it will be a committee approach vs. just one feature guy. Senior Jeremiah Johnson gets his shot after generally playing the understudy to Stewart the last several seasons. But while Johnson played well last year, he is coming off a torn ACL suffered midway through 2007. Reports are good thus far on his progress, but we will see how he holds up. Junior Andre Crenshaw came off the bench for 414 yards and five TD's last year, and he should get plenty of carries. But the big wildcard here is JC transfer LeGarrette Blount. Blount is a 6-2, 235lb monster of a tailback who enrolled early and impressed everyone in Oregon's spring game. Some have said he looks a lot like Washington's Corey Dillon, the former Husky great who ran around and through Pac 10 defenses.

This is strong group of backs who will try to fill Stewart's shoes, but it will be difficult to replace his outstanding production.

YVENSON BERNARD, RB, OREGON STATE

Easily one of the most overlooked players in the Pac 10 the last several years, Yvenson Bernard simply got the job done at Oregon State. Bernard turned in another outstanding season last year with 1214 yards and 13 TD's, once again finishing in the upper half of the Pac 10. Even more, Bernard's production last year was especially good considering the QB situation at OSU. The Beavers were breaking in two new starters in Sean Canfield and Lyle Moevao, and neither guy excelled as they split a lot of the snaps early on. In fact, the two QB's combined to throw 21 interceptions compared to just 11 touchdowns. Every week Bernard faced defenses designed to take him out of the game, yet time and again he got the job done with seven 100+ yard games.

Oregon State will attempt to fill his slot with a stable of replacements, led by true frosh Jacquizz Rodgers and redshirt frosh Ryan McCants. Jacquizz's older brother, sophomore James Rodgers, burst onto the scene last year with 586 rushing yards as a speedy compliment to Bernard. But James Rodgers is actually a wide receiver, and the vast majority of his carries came on motion sweeps from the WR spot. Both McCants and Jacquizz Rodgers will share the load, and the good news is both have looked strong in camp. But neither guy has a division I carry, so you have to wonder what will happen in actual game situations.

Sort of like rival Oregon, the Beavers also have a decent group of candidates to try and fill a departed rushing star in Bernard. But it will not be an easy task to make up for what they have lost.