Mitch Mustain Mitchell Mustain ( born February 27 , 1988 ) is a professional baseball player who is currently in the Chicago White Sox farm system . He is also a member of the San Jose SaberCats of the Arena Football League . He did not play baseball in college , opting instead to pursue a football career . He played baseball at Springdale High School in Springdale , Arkansas , and football under present Auburn University head football coach Gus Malzahn . Mustain also played college football at USC . Mustain played his freshman year of college football at the University of Arkansas in 2006 before transferring to USC in 2007 . Under NCAA transfer rules , he sat out the 2007 season and started playing for USC in the 2008 season . Mustain was one of the most highly decorated high school football players in history , winning every national player of the year award , and was recruited by nearly every major college football program in the United States during the 2005 - 2006 school year . He played sparingly in his first game at Arkansas , but was named the starting quarterback by the second game of the season and achieved a record of 8 – 0 as a true freshman starter . Since junior high school , Mustain has accumulated a record of 61 – 3 ( . 953 ) as a starting quarterback ( 9 – 1 in eighth grade in 2001 , 9 – 0 in both ninth grade in 2002 and 10th grade in 2003 , 12 – 1 in 11th grade in 2004 , 14 – 0 in 12th grade in 2005 , 8 – 0 as a freshman at Arkansas in 2006 , 0 – 1 in 2010 at USC ) . Football Career . High school career . By the time he left Southwest Junior High School , Mustain was already the object of high expectations ; however he did not start for the Springdale High School varsity team until late in his sophomore season . In 2004 as a junior , Mustain was 139 - of - 222 for 2 , 169 yards and 20 touchdowns as Springdale posted a 12 – 1 record and reached the Arkansas Class 5A semifinals . He threw only five interceptions in 222 attempts and rushed for 350 yards and 14 touchdowns . In 2005 as a senior , Mustain threw for 3 , 817 yards and set an Arkansas Class 5A single season record with 47 touchdowns and completed 69 . 3 percent of his pass attempts . Springdale went undefeated with a record of 14 – 0 and won the Arkansas Class 5A state title , including three wins over nationally - ranked opponents and a No . 2 ranking in one national poll . On January 7 , 2006 , Mustain was the starting quarterback for the West team in the U . S . Army All - American Bowl in San Antonio , Texas , where he was awarded the Hall Trophy as National High School Player of the Year . " PARADE " named him High School Player of the Year in its January 1 , 2006 issue . He was then named Mr . Football in Arkansas by the " Arkansas Democrat - Gazette " . He was also named the 2005 – 06 Gatorade National Player of the Year and the 2005 " USA Today " National Player of the Year , the first - ever from the state of Arkansas . Scout . com ranked him as the top high school recruit for the class of 2006 . Mustain had told reporters he planned to play for either Notre Dame , Tennessee , Alabama or his home - state Arkansas Razorbacks . Mustain was the top quarterback in the nation coming out of high school in 2006 , and was considered a better prospect than eventual Heisman - winner Tim Tebow . In recognition of his accomplishments , Springdale Mayor Jerre Van Hoose declared December 6 , 2005 " Mitch Mustain Day " in the city . In December 2005 , Gus Malzahn , Mustain ' s coach at Springdale , was hired to be the new offensive coordinator at the University of Arkansas ; this was widely taken to signal the Razorbacks willingness to shift their offense to adapt to Mustain ' s style of play . The hiring enabled the Razorbacks to recruit the highly - touted quarterback . On January 16 , 2006 , Mustain informed Malzahn of his decision to commit to Arkansas , but only after Notre Dame Coach Charlie Weis opted to offer quarterback recruit Jimmy Clausen over Mustain . In addition to Malzahn , Mustain joined six of his high school teammates at Arkansas . College career . University of Arkansas ( 2006 ) . True freshman starter . Mustain enrolled at the University of Arkansas on July 10 , 2006 and , in his first game on September 2 , 2006 , replaced starting quarterback Robert Johnson in the fourth quarter of an eventual 50 – 14 loss to the USC Trojans . He immediately put together an 80 yard touchdown drive against the Trojan defense . The following day , Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt named Mustain as the starting quarterback for the next game against Utah State , moving Johnson to wide receiver . Mustain accumulated a record of 8 – 0 as a true freshman starter , including a 27 – 10 win on the road over the No . 2 ranked Auburn Tigers on October 7 , 2006 , helping guide the Razorbacks to 11th in the college football rankings . The offense was oriented around what was considered among the nation ' s best running back tandems , Darren McFadden ( who would be the runner - up for the Heisman Trophy ) , Peyton Hillis , and Felix Jones ; as a result , Mustain ' s statistics did not match his high school numbers in a more pass - oriented offense . Change in status . A turning point occurred on November 4 , 2006 in No . 11 Arkansas ' 26 – 20 win over South Carolina , when Mustain was relieved after one series by sophomore Casey Dick , who led the Razorbacks for 228 yards and a touchdown . The day after the game , Dick was named the starting quarterback for an upcoming game against No . 13 Tennessee , with Coach Nutt citing " experience " as the primary reason for the change . Mustain did not play in the next three games and entered for one series in the final game of the regular season , the SEC Championship game , on December 2 , 2006 , against the Florida Gators . On December 20 , 2006 , Nutt announced that Dick would start for the Razorbacks in the January 1 , 2007 Capital One Bowl against the Wisconsin Badgers ; however , he stated that Mustain would also enter the game in the third series . The game resulted in a 17 – 14 defeat for Arkansas . Mustain finished the season with 894 yards passing , completing 69 out of 132 passes with 10 touchdown s and nine interceptions . Transfer from Arkansas . On January 15 , 2007 , Gus Malzahn , the offensive coordinator and Mustain ' s former high school coach , announced he was leaving the Razorbacks to join the University of Tulsa . The day after Malzahn ' s announcement , January 16 , 2007 , Mustain requested permission to transfer to another university and it was , subsequently , granted by Coach Nutt . The announcement was a year to the day after Mustain had initially announced his decision to sign with the Razorbacks out of high school . Nutt had initially refused Mustain ' s request to transfer out . After the initial denial , Mustain went to two Arkansas boosters for guidance , and they and his mother , Beck Campbell , followed up with Nutt to ask for the transfer , which he then agreed to . University of Southern California ( 2007 - 2010 ) . Mustain enrolled at the University of Southern California ( USC ) on May 21 , 2007 . He joined his former Springdale High School and Arkansas teammate , Damian Williams , who had transferred to USC the previous January . Mustain found the West Coast offense run at USC to be appealing , it differed from the spread offense run by Malzahn and appealed to his quarterback playing style . Under NCAA transfer rules , Mustain sat out the 2007 season and served as the quarterback for the scout team . On December 19 , 2007 , he was rewarded with the Service Team Player of the Year ( offense ) award at the Trojan football team ' s annual awards banquet . Mustain became eligible to play again for the 2008 season , with three years of eligibility remaining . During fall camp before the 2008 season , starter Mark Sanchez suffered a dislocated left kneecap while warming up for practice ; the injury sidelined Sanchez and threw his availability for the season opener at Virginia ( and beyond ) into question . As a result , Mustain and redshirt freshman Aaron Corp began alternating repetitions with the first team offense and competing for the possible starting spot . After missing nearly three weeks , Sanchez was cleared to play in the opener on the final day of fall camp ; Corp was selected as his back - up because he demonstrated a better command of the offense , however head coach Pete Carroll stated the competition for the back - up spot would continue through the season . The competition resulted in Mustain regaining the second spot for some games and Corp for others throughout the season . At the end of the 2008 season , Sanchez opted to forgo his final season and enter the NFL Draft , leaving the competition for the starting position in the 2009 season open between Mustain , Corp , and in - coming true freshman Matt Barkley , who like the other two also received major accolades as a high school player . By the end of spring practices , Mustain was placed third in the order behind Corp and Barkley . Despite being relegated to third - string , Mustain continued to persevere and even tried out at the punter position to try and contribute to the team . By mid - season , better results in practice , and after an injury to Barkley led to a disastrous outing by Corp as the starting quarterback , Mustain had climbed to the second position behind Barkley . After the 2009 season , Corp transferred to Richmond , and after off - season practices , Mustain became Barkley ' s back - up for the 2010 season . Before the season , Mustain was diagnosed and started treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ) and head coach Pete Carroll left to coach in the NFL and was replaced by Lane Kiffin , who stuck with Barkley as the starter . Mustain proceeded to back - up Barkley until the former was injured in the next - to - last game of the season , allowing Mustain to start his first football game since playing at Arkansas in 2006 . Starting in the storied Notre Dame rivalry game , Mustain put up an admirable 21 - for - 38 for 183 yards with one interception in a game that became known for a pass that was dropped : In the final two minutes of the game , Mustain threw an accurate pass to a wide - open Ronald Johnson that would have resulted in a touchdown and the probable win , but Johnson bobbled the ball and dropped it . Moments after the drop , Mustain threw his only interception of the game to seal the loss . Despite the loss , Mustain felt a boost in confidence and stopped taking his ADHD medication , Vyvanse . He thought he could earn money by selling the medication illegally , and was caught and arrested on February 1 , 2011 . Eventually he entered into a pre - file community service program in order to avoid a more severe sentence . Professional football career . Hamilton Tiger - Cats . Mustain went undrafted in the 2011 NFL Draft , and signed a 10 - day free agent contract with the Hamilton Tiger - Cats of the Canadian Football League on June 1 , 2011 to see if he could win a backup job . He was unable to impress and was released by the Tiger - Cats on June 10 , 2011 . Mustain then applied to Marine Officer Candidates School and worked at a friend ' s car dealership in Bentonville before signing with a new team in September . Georgia Force . On September 30 , 2011 , Mustain signed with the Georgia Force of the Arena Football League . San Jose SaberCats . In January of 2013 , Mustain signed with the San Jose SaberCats to backup legendary quarterback , Aaron Garcia . Baseball career . Chicago White Sox farm system . It was announced on February 9 , 2012 that the Chicago White Sox had signed Mitch Mustain to a minor league deal . Mustain , who hadn ' t pitched since high school , reportedly threw a 90mph fastball at a tryout in front of a White Sox scout in January 2012 . While attending USC , Mustain commented to a reporter that he had considered once again pursuing baseball though he never played for the Trojans during his time there . According to a report by a Northwest Arkansas news - site , Mustain will report to spring training with the White Sox on March 8 , 2012 . On June 19 , 2012 , Mustain made his minor league debut for the Bristol White Sox against the Bluefield Blue Jays . Throwing the 8th and 9th innings , Mustain gave up two hits and recorded two strikeouts in two scoreless innings . The White Sox lost 7 - 2 in the season opener .