Booty, Vikings see move as good fit

Vikings coach Brad Childress never has hidden his desire to have a quality developmental quarterback. If that guy happens to be the son of a football coach, all the better.

John David Booty fit the profile so well, at least in the Vikings' minds, that they made a trade with archrival Green Bay during the second day of the NFL draft Sunday to move up to the second pick of the fifth round and grab the quarterback from Southern California.

"You could see many of the throws that we have within this offense, you could see him operate and do [at USC]," Childress said. "So that was intriguing to us. ... He comes from a coaching family, has had brothers that have played, so all those things factor in, and then obviously his production. We felt like his value where we got him there was too good to pass up."

Booty, very familiar with the West Coast offense, is extremely happy to be joining a team that uses it. He said in an ESPN interview last week that the Vikings would be a good fit.

"I love that offense," he said. "I love the throws that I have to make based on all of our reads, and it's really all I know. For me it's something I really enjoy, and really I think it fits my abilities very well."

Booty will compete with Brooks Bollinger for the third-string job behind starter Tarvaris Jackson and veteran backup Gus Frerotte.

Booty grew up in a sports-oriented family that included brother Josh, a much-heralded baseball prospect who ended up playing quarterback at LSU and spent time with the Cleveland Browns. Another brother, Abram, was a receiver at LSU, then Valdosta State.

John David's father, Johnny, played college football and was a coach at Evangel Christian Academy in Shreveport, La. John David played varsity football beginning when he was in seventh grade and went on to graduate from high school a full year early.

He went to Southern Cal, where he eventually succeeded Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart as the Trojans' starter, leading USC to back-to-back Rose Bowl victories over Michigan and Illinois. Booty, though, missed three games in 2007 because of a broken middle finger on his throwing hand.

While Booty battled some adversity in college he also played in an environment that prepared him for the NFL. "Especially [when] you are following two Heisman Trophy winners [Carson Palmer and Leinart] who both were top-10 picks and all those things," Booty said.

The fact he was drafted in the fifth round didn't appear to bother Booty, who had been told he might go in the second or third round. "They had said Chicago or Tampa [might take me], teams like that," he said. "When they were getting up they were making trades and getting other picks, and I just continued to fall and fall. I actually fell right to where I wanted to be."