John David Booty (born January 3, 1985) is a former
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
. He played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
at
USC
USC most often refers to:
* University of South Carolina, a public research university
** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses
**South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program
* University of ...
and was drafted by the
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...
in the fifth round of the
2008 NFL Draft
The 2008 NFL Draft was the 73rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 26 and April 27, ...
.
Booty also played for the
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...
and
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...
. He is the brother of former NFL quarterback and
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park.
The franc ...
third baseman
Josh Booty
Joshua Gibson Booty (born April 29, 1975) is a former professional baseball and American football player. Booty played briefly in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a third baseman, and also in the National Football League (NFL) as a quarterback.
Hig ...
.
Early years
Booty prepped at the
Evangel Christian Academy in Shreveport, Louisiana but left a year early after his father (who was the team's quarterback coach) left the staff, having already earned enough credits to graduate. Despite leaving after his junior year, Booty's final passing stats were 8,474 yards on 555 of 864 attempts (64.2%) with 88 touchdowns and 26 interceptions. Booty succeeded his brother, former
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...
quarterback
Josh Booty
Joshua Gibson Booty (born April 29, 1975) is a former professional baseball and American football player. Booty played briefly in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a third baseman, and also in the National Football League (NFL) as a quarterback.
Hig ...
, and former Miami quarterback
Brock Berlin
Brock Sterling Berlin (born July 4, 1981) is an American former college and professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Florida and the University of ...
. In 2001 and 2002 he led Evangel Christian Academy to state-championship game victories held at the
Louisiana Superdome
The Caesars Superdome, commonly known as the Superdome (formerly known as Mercedes-Benz Superdome), is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the home stadium of the New Orleans Saints ...
in
.
[Gary Klei]
Booty could engineer a happy 'dome-coming
''Los Angeles Times'', August 5, 2007
Booty is believed to be the first player ever to leave high school a whole year early to play college football. He headlined a class that was considered the best that season, and included other NFL-bound recruits such as
Reggie Bush
Reginald Alfred Bush Jr. (born March 2, 1985) is an American former football running back who now serves as an on-air college football analyst for Fox Sports. He played college football at USC, where he earned consensus All-American honors twi ...
,
LenDale White
LenDale Anthony White (born December 20, 1984) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the second round (45th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft. He has also been a member of the Seattle Seahawks and Den ...
,
Steve Smith Stephen, Steve, Stevie, or Steven Smith may refer to:
Academics
* Steve Smith (political scientist) (born 1952), British international relations theorist and senior university manager
* Stephen Smith (journalist) (born 1956), American journalist, ...
, and
Sam Baker.
[Jamie Newberg]
Upon further review ...
SI.com, May 22, 2003, ''Accessed April 30, 2008''.
College career
2003–2005
Although he entered USC as a highly regarded quarterback prospect, Booty spent his first three years at USC as the back-up to eventual
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...
winner
Matt Leinart
Matthew Stephen Leinart (born May 11, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football at USC, where he won the Heisman Trophy and ...
, who had replaced former Heisman winner
Carson Palmer
Carson Hilton Palmer (born December 27, 1979) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals. He played college football at ...
. When he arrived at USC, the competition for the starting quarterback in the 2003 season had not seen any particular player separating himself from the pack, so when Matt Leinart was eventually chosen as the starter there was some question as to whether he would merely hold the starting position until Booty could learn the offense.
[David Leon Moore]
Booty carrying on USC's quarterback tradition
''USA TODAY'', August 3, 2007.[Bill Plaschke]
Booty puts the finishing touch on a fine body of work
''Los Angeles Times'', January 2, 2008, Accessed July 7, 2008.[Arash Markazi]
SI.com, August 22, 2008, Accessed August 22, 2008. Booty earned the spot as the number two quarterback as a freshman, but had to
redshirt
Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi
* Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...
his second season after suffering an elbow injury in August 2004. When Leinart opted to stay for his final year at USC, there were questions as to whether Booty would transfer to a different school.
[Eric Sondheimer, rojans Take Stockpiling to a New Level ''Los Angeles Times'', January 15, 2005, Accessed January 16, 2009] He opted to remain at USC. Booty had back surgery to repair a bulging
disc in his spine at the end of March 2006, but fully recovered and earned the starting spot for the 2006 season.
2006
Booty entered the 2006 season as a
redshirt
Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi
* Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...
junior.
At the beginning of the 2006 season, Booty was one of fifteen players on the official watch list for the
Maxwell Award
The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the college football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best all ...
for the best player in college football, although the list states that it "may change without notice based on performance ... during the 2006 season and is not designed to represent an all-inclusive listing of eligible candidates for the collegiate football awards presented by the Maxwell Football Club."
In the 2006 season, Booty was ranked the tenth best quarterback in college football and the number one quarterback in the Pac-10 by
Rivals.com
Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel.
History
Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...
.
He started all of the games for the
USC Trojans
The USC Trojans are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ' ...
at quarterback in 2006 and was named to the rivals.com and Pacific-10 conference coaches 2006 All-Pac-10 team First-team.
Booty led the Trojans to a victory over Michigan in the
2007 Rose Bowl, throwing for 391 yards and four touchdowns.
[Gene Menez]
Heisman Watch: Early fix
CNNSI.com, April 24, 2007.
2007
Booty chose to return for the 2007 season, foregoing the
NFL Draft
The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...
. Rivals.com named him one of the top-10 quarterbacks going into the 2007 season, ''
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
'' as one of the "Top 20 Players Heading into 2007," and he was considered a front-runner for the 2007
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...
.
[Gary Klein]
USC begins spring football practice
''Los Angeles Times'', March 20, 2007.
Booty was a 2007 pre-season All-American for Athlon, ''
The Sporting News
The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...
'', and Blue Ribbon and was on the 2007 Maxwell Award and
Manning Award
The Manning Award has been presented annually since the 2004 football season to the collegiate American football quarterback as judged by the Sugar Bowl Committee to be the best in the United States. It is the only quarterback award that incl ...
watch list. In the summer before the season, he worked out with
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
quarterback
Peyton Manning
Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and four with th ...
.
[Ivan Maisel]
I-Formation breaks the huddle on the 2007 season
ESPN.com, August 30, 2007.
On October 6, Booty suffered a broken finger in his throwing hand during a
24–23 loss to
Stanford
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...
.
[Gary Klein]
USC goes to backup plan
''Los Angeles Times'', October 12, 2007. He sat out the following three games before returning as the starting quarterback against
Oregon State
Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...
on November 3.
On his return, the Trojans finished the season 5–0 and outscored opponents 165–68, culminating in a victory in the
2008 Rose Bowl, a sixth straight Pac-10 title and making the Trojans the first college football team to achieve six straight 11-win seasons.
[Bill Plaschke]
USC's Booty has excelled despite injury, criticism
''Los Angeles Times'', January 2, 2008.[Bill Dwyre]
Carroll shows no signs of a fade pattern
''Los Angeles Times'', December 2, 2007.[Eddie Pells]
(6) USC 49, (13) Illinois 17
Associated Press, January 1, 2008. In leading the Trojans to a 49–17 Rose Bowl victory over the
Illinois Fighting Illini
The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports.
The University operates a number of athletic faci ...
, Booty set a Rose Bowl record with seven career touchdowns (in the 2007 and 2008 games) and was chosen as the Offensive MVP.
Booty ended his career at USC with a 9–0 record against top-25 teams.
College statistics
Professional career
Minnesota Vikings
Booty broke from convention and stated on a national television broadcast, more than a week before the NFL draft, that he hoped to be selected by the
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...
.
[Gary Klein and Chris Foster]
Booty's wish does come true
''Los Angeles Times'', April 28, 2008,''Accessed April 28, 2008''. He was drafted by the Vikings in the fifth round (137th overall) of the
2008 NFL Draft
The 2008 NFL Draft was the 73rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 26 and April 27, ...
. Booty made the team after a pre-season battle for the third spot on the depth chart with
Brooks Bollinger
Brooks Michael Bollinger (born November 15, 1979) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions. He also was a member of the Florida Tusk ...
. He did not take a snap in 2008, but after starter
Gus Frerotte
Gustave Joseph Frerotte (; born July 31, 1971) is a former American football quarterback. He was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the seventh round of the 1994 NFL Draft. He played college football at Tulsa.
Frerotte, who was selected to ...
went down with a lower back injury, Booty was listed as the second-string quarterback during the week 15 meeting with the
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...
and
Tarvaris Jackson
Tarvaris D'Andre Jackson (April 21, 1983 – April 12, 2020) was an American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). Jackson played college football for both Alabama State and Arkansas. He played professionally for the ...
made the start.
With the signing of
Brett Favre
Brett Lorenzo Favre ( ; born October 10, 1969) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 consecutive starts from 1992 to 20 ...
in the 2009 off season, Booty switched his jersey from #4 to #9. After an unimpressive performance in the pre-season, Booty was waived by the Vikings on September 5, 2009; he was subsequently signed to the team's
practice squad
In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...
.
[Rick Alonzo]
QB John David Booty, assigned to practice squad, still hopes to catch on with Vikings
''Pioneer Press'', September 7, 2009, Accessed September 9, 2009. He was released from the practice squad on October 14, 2009, only to be re-signed to it on October 17. He was subsequently released from the Vikings again on October 21, 2009.
Tennessee Titans
Booty was signed to
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...
practice squad
In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...
on October 28, 2009.
[Gary Estwick and Jim Wyatt]
Titans get Vincent Fuller back at practice
''The Tennessean'', October 29, 2009, Accessed October 29, 2009.
Houston Texans
After his contract with the Titans expired at the end of the 2009 season, Booty signed a future contract with the
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...
. Booty was waived as part of final cuts before the 2010 NFL season.
Personal life
Booty is the younger brother of former
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
and
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...
quarterback
Josh Booty
Joshua Gibson Booty (born April 29, 1975) is a former professional baseball and American football player. Booty played briefly in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a third baseman, and also in the National Football League (NFL) as a quarterback.
Hig ...
(who threw for 3,951 yards and 24 touchdowns during two years with
LSU's football team) and former LSU and
Valdosta State University
Valdosta State University (VSU or Valdosta State) is a public university in Valdosta, Georgia. It is one of the four comprehensive universities in the University System of Georgia. , VSU had over 12,000 undergraduate and graduate students. VSU a ...
wide receiver Abram Booty (who caught 117 passes for 1,768 yards during three years at LSU). His nephew, General, plays quarterback for the
Oklahoma Sooners
The Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land Run ...
. Josh also played
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
for the
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park.
The franc ...
. He is from the same hometown as
Terry Bradshaw
Terry Paxton Bradshaw (born September 2, 1948) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL). Since 1994, he has been a television sports analyst an ...
,
Tommy Maddox
Thomas Alfred Maddox (born September 2, 1971) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons, most notably with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He also played one season each for the New Je ...
and
Art Carmody
Arthur Carmody IV (born April 7, 1984) is an American former football placekicker. He played college football for the Louisville Cardinals.
High school
Carmody attended Loyola College Prep, where he was a two-time All-District and All-Cit ...
. Booty was high school backfield mates with former LSU and former San Diego Chargers running back
Jacob Hester
Jacob Troy Hester (born May 8, 1985) is a former American football fullback who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the third round of the 2008 NFL draft. He played college foo ...
. Booty was roommates with then-USC
center
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...
Ryan Kalil
Ryan Joseph Kalil (born March 29, 1985) is an American film and television producer and former NFL center. He played college football at USC, where he was a member of two national championship teams, was named a first-team All-American, and won ...
during the 2006 season. He is sometimes called "J.D.".
Booty married his fiancée Jill in July 2009.
References
External links
*
Minnesota Viking profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Booty, John David
1985 births
Living people
American football quarterbacks
Houston Texans players
Minnesota Vikings players
Tennessee Titans players
USC Trojans football players
Evangel Christian Academy players
Players of American football from Shreveport, Louisiana