By Arash Markazi, SI.com 

I don't know why but I'm fascinated by the whole Mitch Mustain saga at USC. I suppose saga might be a strong word to use since few outside Heritage Hall care about the Trojans' third-string quarterback, but therein lies the drama for me. How in the world can Mustain be a third stringer? The same Mustain who was the consensus national player of the year coming out of high school three years ago. The same Mustain who went 8-0 as a starter at Arkansas as a true freshman. The same Mustain who transferred to USC and redshirted last season in the hopes of being the starter this season.

I caught up with Mustain yesterday after practice, about 24 hours after he had been given the news that Mark Sanchez was officially starting the season opener against Virginia and that redshirt freshman Aaron Corp would be serving as his backup, relegating Mustain, who was competing with Sanchez for the starting quarterback spot in the spring, to clipboard-holder status this season barring a major injury to both Sanchez and Corp.

"We spent the same amount of time in the system and [Corp] had a good camp," Mustain told me as he walked off the field after practice. "My Arkansas experience is worth nothing to be quite honest. I just have to keep working to get myself back up on top." 

The announcement wasn't just a blow to Mustain's chances of playing this season but seriously puts in jeopardy his chances of ever starting a game at USC. Not only is he behind Sanchez, who will have one more year after this at USC, but also behind Corp, who will have three more years, and lest we forget about high school player of the year Matt Barkley, who will be arriving on campus next year.

So, I had to ask him: Do you regret transferring to USC?

"No not at all," he said. "I still have three years. It's a long time for a lot of things to happen."