Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

Give Mitch Mustain credit. He has a plan and is sticking with it.

Mustain, the Springdale native who enters his final year as the back-up quarterback at Southern Cal, could have transferred prior to the season with no penalty because the Trojans are on probation.

Colleges called. Mustain didn’t listen, for a number of reasons, including he figures being a back-up at USC is as good of preparation for the NFL as starting at some of the schools that called wanting his services.

It’s worked before as ESPN.com points out…

Matt Cassel never started a game at USC, stuck behind Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart, but the New England Patriots picked him in the seventh round of the 2005 draft anyway. Cassel rode the bench three more seasons in New England, then jumped when an opportunity finally arrived. He took over after Tom Brady's knee injury in 2008, had a great season and parlayed that into a six-year deal with the Kansas City Chiefs worth more than $10 million a year.

Can it happen twice, a quarterback graduating from the USC practice field straight to Sundays? It might be a long shot, but don't write it off. NFLDraftScout.com has Mustain rated the No. 11 quarterback in next spring's draft and estimates he'll be taken -- you guessed it -- in the seventh round.

So, even as a back-up for three years at Southern Cal, Mustain is an NFL prospect. That’s not too shabby for a kid that was written off by many after transferring from Arkansas to USC in 2006.

And if the NFL career doesn’t work out like it did for Cassel, a degree from USC sure seems like a nice consolation prize.