At least for the moment, solitude appeals to Mitch Mustain. He is far from the madding crowd of Fayetteville, Ark., far from the scrutiny and speculation, the whispers and blogs that eventually contributed to him seeking refuge in the serenity of Hollywood.

"It's big here," Mustain says. "You can kind of go your own way."

Mustain was a quarterback at the University of Arkansas last season. The school is in Fayetteville, population 58,000, or about a third the size of Pomona.

Mustain wasn't just any quarterback. He was the homegrown sensation, the local boy who would make good and take the local university along with him. He had led Springdale High, in a city of similar size right next to Fayetteville, to a 14-0 record and the state championship his senior season in 2005.

After that season, Mustain's high school coach was hired to be Arkansas' offensive coordinator/receivers coach, one hefty jump in job code. Besides Mustain, Springdale teammates Damian Williams, Ben Cleveland and Andrew Norman signed to play at Arkansas.

Cleveland is a tight end, Norman and Williams receivers. Gus Malzahn, Springdale's coach, ran a no-huddle, spread offense. Clearly, the cream of his crop had followed him to Arkansas.

So there they were, the Springdale stars, still together that night Sept. 2, along the sideline in Fayetteville when USC came to town.

Turned out it was a night to remember more for the Razorbacks than the Trojans, who hit Fayetteville like General Sherman hit Atlanta, demolishing the landscape to the tune of 50-14, yawning and starting to ponder another national title run before they cleared the city limits on the way out.

The Razorbacks highlight, if there could be one, was 18-year-old Mustain, who entered the game late and took Arkansas on an 80-yard touchdown drive.

For Arkansas football fans, who care passionately 365 days a year and get an extra 24 hours of hand-wringing every leap year, the future had arrived. When Coach Houston Nutt declared Mustain the starter the next week, Fayetteville was in Hog heaven.

Mustain started the next eight games. Arkansas won the next eight games. The Razorbacks were No. 11 in the country, had an All-American running back in Darren McFadden, and were nicely positioned for a big season and a big bowl game.

Then it strangely unraveled. In the ninth game of the season, at South Carolina, Nutt yanked Mustain after the first series for sophomore Casey Dick, and when Dick responded well and Arkansas won, Nutt appointed Dick the starter.

Mustain played little after that. Williams, who had started five games, departed for USC shortly after the Southeastern Conference title game Dec. 2 against Florida, a 38-28 loss. He didn't even wait for Arkansas' Capital One Bowl game Jan. 1 against Wisconsin. Mustain and Dick shared the quarterback spot in that 17-14 loss.

"I got about 20 snaps," Mustain says.

That was not enough for him, for his mother, Beck Campbell, or for many Arkansas fans. Apparently, it also was not enough for offensive coordinator Malzahn, who wasn't running many spread offenses under Nutt, and with McFadden in the backfield. On Jan. 15, Malzahn announced he would leave to become assistant head coach at Tulsa. The next day, exactly a year to the day he committed to Arkansas, Mustain said he too was leaving.

"It just got to the point where I knew it wasn't going to work out there," Mustain says. "Not this year, not ever."

Now, he is a Trojan, bringing to mind the theory that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. He followed Williams here, and while ineligible this season, they can work out with the team but can't play in games until next season.

It also means that Pete Carroll, the father of mother-lodes, keeps the quarterback feast coming, even though, about this time next year, he could be in for a tough decision on his next Heisman Trophy candidate.

John David Booty is this year's Trojans cover boy. He has waited, earned his way, kept his tongue and appears ready to throw more touchdown passes and hoist more trophies. Mark Sanchez is waiting in the wings and, barring an injury to Booty, will do so again this fall.

But when '08 arrives and it is Sanchez's time, there will be Mustain, with a pedigree, an '07 season of showing his wares on the scout team in practice, and one more year of eligibility than Sanchez.

As Dick Enberg would say, "Oh, my!"

But by then, Carroll probably will have 10 more high school All-Americans on campus and be working on a loophole to get Carson Palmer back for a year. Some coaches recruit teams. Carroll gathers horns of plenty.

Mustain, already working out with other USC players, is aware of all this, and handling it well for the moment.

"Mark and I get along fine, he's a great guy," Mustain says. "He's fine with the role, I'm fine with the role. It's not a secret around here that you come and you compete."

Since his freshman year in high school, and including his 8-0 run with Arkansas last year, Mustain has lost one game as a starting quarterback, the state title game his junior year at Springdale High. That's a record of 52-1.

At USC, that will get you a pair of shoulder pads and a chance to take on the 10 other guys with similar resumes.

He will have a year away from the buzz and expectations, a year to focus on football more than fanfare. But about this time next year, a time Mustain calls his "turning point," Hollywood may stop being serene.