Manoogian Stays Ready to Play at USC

He may never get to take a snap in a real game, but John Manoogian is preparing himself just in case. For in the unpredictable world of college football, a player never knows where or when his number might be called.

Manoogian, a 2008 Windward School graduate, is a redshirt junior quarterback at the University of Southern California and he is still as familiar with the playbook as any player on the team, having served as fifth-year senior Mitch Mustain's backup for the Notre Dame game last season when Matt Barkley was sidelined with a high ankle sprain.

Manoogian didn't play in the 20-16 defeat to the Fighting Irish last year and who knows where he'll be on the depth chart this fall, for the Trojans have seven signal callers on their roster. Barkley, a junior, is returning as the unquestioned starter while Manoogian and fellow redshirt junior Emon Saee are the only other upperclassmen at the position.

Rounding out the Trojans' quarterback corps are two redshirt freshmen, Anthony Neyer out of Xavier College Prep and Jesse Scroggins out of Lakewood High, and true freshmen Max Wittek of Mater Dei and Cody Kessler of Bakersfield Centennial.

Manoogian played 8 Man football at Windward, where he was named to the CIF All-Southern Section 8 Man Division I team as a senior captain in 2007, throwing for 321 yards and four touchdowns against Thacher and leading the Wildcats to a 10-2 record. As a junior he completed 131 of 185 passes for 1,643 yards and 19 touchdowns with five interceptions and rushed for six more scores.

Manoogian's performance at an Elite 11 Camp in Berkeley prior to his senior season at Windward generated interest from Ivy League schools Columbia, Harvard and Yale as well as Stanford and Fresno State, but he ultimately chose to walk on at USC.

Taking reps in spring practice while eagerly waiting for his opportunity to play, Manoogian participated in the April 23 scrimmage at the L.A. Coliseum between USC Trojan Cardinal and USC Trojan White.

Click here to watch an interview with John Manoogian after practice a few days before last season's Notre Dame game.

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