Booty seems improved, but Sanchez likely to start

USC quarterback John David Booty on Wednesday threw passes with better accuracy, timing and velocity than he did the day before, but he is not likely to supplant Mark Sanchez as the starter Saturday against fifth-ranked Oregon.

Booty, who is recovering from a broken middle finger on his throwing hand, took snaps from center for the first time since the Trojans’ Oct. 6 loss against Stanford.

The fifth-year senior said he was capable of starting against Oregon, but added that he was not 100% and that he did not want to put the ninth-ranked Trojans at a disadvantage by playing at less than full strength.

Booty is hoping for more improvement today.

“I’m a team guy, I don’t think it’s fair to the other guys who work their butts off all week and want to go out there and win if I can’t help us do that,” Booty said. “That will be Coach Carroll’s decision.”

Pete Carroll has maintained that Booty would not start unless his finger was healed.

After watching him Wednesday, Carroll said Booty was “ahead of schedule.”

“He doesn’t quite have the feel that he wants on the football right now -- he can’t quite control it as much as he would like to -- but he’s getting closer,” Carroll said.

Offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian indicated that a decision on the starter would probably be made by tonight.

“This isn’t just about this Saturday,” Sarkisian said. “Obviously, that’s the ultimate goal; we’ve got to win the game Saturday, but we’ve got some tough games still ahead of us that we’re going to need some healthy quarterbacks in.”

Sanchez continued to prepare for his third consecutive start in place of Booty.

“If it’s not me, I’ll be his biggest cheerleader, but I’m itching to get back out there so I hope it happens,” he said.

The Trojans were encouraged by the improved conditions of offensive linemen Sam Baker, who took an anti-inflammatory shot for his injured hamstring, and guard Chilo Rachal (knee). But starting right tackle Drew Radovich did not practice because of back condition that flared up Tuesday.

Radovich, who missed nearly all of training camp because of back soreness, said he had experienced small episodes of discomfort during the last few weeks, but would play Saturday.

Butch Lewis, who played nearly all of the last two games at left tackle in place of Baker, worked in Radovich’s spot.

Practice came to a near-standstill when freshman running back Joe McKnight struggled to get to his feet after he was tackled. McKnight said he was hit in the back in the same spot that he had been hit against Notre Dame. “I couldn’t move my right leg, but I’m all right now,” he said after sitting out the rest of the workout. . . . Sophomore tailback Stafon Johnson (foot) will play Saturday but he is not 100%. “I’m more of an instinctive runner and now you’ve got to think about different ways to make a guy miss,” he said. “Because of the way I run and make different cuts, of course it changes up things I do. . . . You just have to live through it.”. . . Freshman running back Broderick Green, who had hoped to come back from a foot injury suffered during training camp, said that he would use a redshirt season.

gary.klein@latimes.com