Mark Sanchez
From NCAA College Football Information & Resource
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Mark Sanchez (born on November 11, 1986 in Long Beach, CA) plays quarterback for the University of Southern California Trojans in the NCAA college football tournament. After spending most of his first three seasons at USC playing behind a Heisman Trophy winner and a veteran Heisman candidate, Sanchez was finally anointed to become the Trojans' starter for the 2008 season. The talented quarterback from Mission Viejo, California showed some flashes of brilliance during his stint on the field in several occassions in 2007 and his impressive outing during spring practices was the final "nail-in-the-coffin" for securing the starting position.
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Personal Life
Mark is a Latino of Mexican ethnicity. His father Nick Sanchez is a former high school quarterback who also served as assistant trainer for Santa Margarita high school where Mark served as ballboy for star playcallers Carson Palmer and Chris Rix. Nick has branched out of football, working as a fire captain in Orange County, California. Prior to Mark, the Sanchez family has had its members playing the gridirion, namely Nick Jr. and Brandon, Mark's older brothers. The former played quarterback for Yale from 1992-94 while the latter suited up for DePauw in 1997. When he was younger, Mark played fullback or linebacker because he was too big for his age. Mark's poise and maturity has been attributed to his brothers who "make sure he walks the straight and narrow." He has a B average (3.24 GPA) at USC.
Since the 2007 Notre Dame game, Mark has worn a custom made “Mexican Mouthpiece” which features the Mexican Flag colors (red, green and white) and symbols (eagle and snake) in honor of his heritage.
High School
When he was in seventh grade, his father talked to high school quarterbacks coach Bob Johnson (Elite 11 passing coach, father of former USC and NFL quarterback Rob Johnson, and private coach for USC Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer) about taking a look at Sanchez as a quarterback and not as a tailback or linebacker. Since then, Sanchez and his father have trained extensively in the park or in the backyard using Johnson's quarterback drills. He went on and spent his freshman and sophomore years at Santa Margarita Catholic High School, where he was privately trained by former Santa Margarita and Florida State quarterback Rix. He played under Head Coach Micheal Borowski's Eagles squad which won its first eight assignments. One of his memorable games was when he threw his first varsity pass which turned out to be the game-winning touchdown in a game during his sophomore year.
As a junior, Sanchez transferred to Mission Viejo High School where he suited up for the Diablos' basketball, baseball, and football teams. As part of the football team, Sanchez played under Johnson and threw for 2,600 yards and 29 touchdowns, with only four interceptions and a 75 percent completion rate as a junior. That same year, he also contributed 90 yards rushing and a touchdown reception on a reverse throwback while posting single-game highs of 100% completion (12-for-12) for 326 yards and 4 touchdowns. He capped his junior year campaign with several postseason accolades, including a spot in the Cal-Hi Sports All-State Underclass second team, All-CIF Division II, Orange County Register All-Orange County first team and All-South Coast League first team.
In his final year at Mission Viejo, Sanchez led the dominant Diablo team with his 151-of-245 (61.6%) passing, 2,441 passing yards and 24 TDs with only 4 interceptions while sitting out eight halves of his team's lopsided victories. After leading Mission Viejo to the 2004 CIF Division II championship, Sanchez was awarded with the most prestigious awards in high school football, including the 2004 Parade All-American Player of the Year, Super Prep All-American Player of the Year, Gatorade California Player of the Year, All-CIF Division II Co-Offensive Player of the Year, Los Angeles Times All-Orange County Back of the Year, and the All-South Coast League Co-Offensive MVP awards. In addition, he was also named into the EA Sports All-American first team, Super Prep Elite 50, Prep Star Top 100 Dream Team, Student Sports Top 100, Rivals 100, Prep Star All-American, Tom Lemming All-American, Scout.com All-American first team, Super Prep All-Farwest, Prep Star All-West, Long Beach Press-Telegram Best in the West first team, Tacoma News Tribune Western 100, Orange County Register Fab 15 first team, Cal-Hi Sports All-State first team, All-CIF Southern Section, Los Angeles Times All-Star, and the Orange County Register All-Orange County teams.
Sanchez also took part in the 2005 U.S. Army All-American Bowl where he teamed up with the likes of Travis Beckum, Jamaal Charles, Jonathan Stewart, Ryan Perriloux, USC teammates Rey Maualuga, and eventual MVP DeSean Jackson for the West team that beat the East handily, 35-3. He finished the game completing five of nine passes for 88 yards and a touchdown.
College
With his talent, it's no wonder that several collegiate teams wanted to acquire his services. Among the coaches that contacted him include Buddy Teevens, Mack Brown, Bill Callahan and Pete Carroll. The five-star rated quarterback eventually gave his commitment to play for the Trojans in the summer of 2004.
2005
With 2004 Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart deciding to stay with the Trojans for his final year, Sanchez did not play a single game in his freshman year and was instead redshirted. He nevertheless helped his team prepare for games as part of the USC scout team and was awarded with the Service Team Offensive Player of the Year Award.
2006
During spring camp, Sanchez ran the first-team offense while John David Booty was recuperating from a back injury. Although he was impressive in spring practices, coaches stated that Booty would be regarded as the starting quarterback when he returned for fall training camp.
On the 26th of April, Sanchez was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault following an accusation of a 19-year old female schoolmate that Sanchez was pressuring her to have sexual intercourse with him despite her protests. He was handcuffed to a downtown detention center where he submitted DNA and hair samples, but was released early the following day after posting a $200,000 bail. The team placed him on interim suspension, meaning he was suspended from the football team but was still permitted to take his semester finals, only he had to take it separate from the general student body and under the supervision of campus security.
On the 3rd of June, the Los Angeles district attorney's office announced it would not press charges against Sanchez due to a "lack of sufficient evidence beyond a reasonable doubt" as a result of medical exams proving inconclusive on the issue of force; thus making the case "essentially a 'one-on-one' allegation. In the end, the woman involved left the university while Sanchez for his part was required to take a rape awareness class at USC. Although the quarterback was reinstated in the football team, he was still disciplined for underage drinking and using fake identification on the night he was arrested. This followed a series of other incidents on campus the previous few months, where Sanchez was detained by USC's Department of Public Safety for a variety of infractions, including breaking a fraternity house window, public intoxication and disruptive behavior.
On the football field, Sanchez made his collegiate football debut @ Arkansas, completing 1 of 2 passes for 19 yards and making his first career rush in the 50-14 win over the Razorbacks. He made another appearance in the lopsided shut-out victory @ Stanford, completing 2-of-4 passes for 44 yards and rushing thrice with 1 scoring run. He also threw an interception against Oregon and saw a few minutes of action in wins over Arizona, Notre Dame and in the Rose Bowl victory against Michigan. He concluded his redshirt freshman year going 3-for-7 for 63 yards and an interception to go with 4 carries and a rushing TD.
2007
Sanchez returned to his back-up quarterback role during his redshirt sophomore year, but did not see action in the season opener @ Idaho after breaking a thumb in his throwing hand at fall camp. He made his first appearance of the year in the 49-31 win @ Nebraska but only rushed once without attempting any pass. He was also inserted in the Washington State game and completed 2 of 3 passes for 23 yards with 1 INT in the 47-14 victory. After Booty sustained a broken finger in his throwing hand during a 23–24 upset loss to Stanford, Sanchez was moved up to the starting role in the ensuing game, thus making his first career start against Arizona. Despite throwing a couple of interceptions early in the game, Sanchez regained his composure and went 11 of 15 for 74 yards and 1 TD in the second half, to finish the game with a 19-of-31 completion for 130 yards to lead the Trojans to a 20-13 win.
He made another start the following week against Notre Dame, this time completing 21 of 38 passes for 235 yards and four touchdowns without a pick-off as USC dismantled the Fighting Irish, 38-0 to earn for himself the team's Player of the Game versus Notre Dame Award. In his final start of the season, he was 26-for-41 for 277 yards with 2 TDs (9 and 14 yards) and 2 crucial interceptions in the second half as Oregon defeated USC, 17-24. Booty returned against Oregon State, but Sanchez saw little minutes where he threw and completed a solitary pass for 30 yards. He also saw action in the team's final two games, but did not register any stat in wins over UCLA in the regular season finale, and against Illinois in the Rose Bowl. He ended the year completing 69-of-114 passes for 695 yards and 7 TDs with 5 INTs.
2008
Despite facing a stiff competition for the Trojans' starting QB role, Sanchez was the acknowledged front-runner and he was eventually named as the successor to Booty in April over Arkansas-transfer and former Razorback starter Mitch Mustain and redshirt freshman Aaron Corp. During the USC football team's annual Trojan Huddle end-of-spring practice intrasquad game, Sanchez was 16-of-24 for 203 yards and 3 touchdowns with an interception on a flea-flicker play for the losing Cardinal squad. Less than a month before the season's opening, Sanchez sustained a dislocated left kneecap during pre-practice warmups.
He did manage to recover in time for the season-opener and wearing a knee brace, led the Trojans to a 52-7 victory over Virginia after throwing three touchdown passes (26-for-35 for 338 yards). Aside from being named as the Pac-10 Offensive player of the week for his efforts against the Cavs, he was also selected as the Rivals.com National Player of the Week and the O'Brien National Quarterback of the Week. Two weeks later against 5th ranked Ohio State, Sanchez was at it again, this time tying a career-high of 4 touchdown passes while completing 17-of-28 passes (.607) for 172 yards to lead USC to a decisive 35-3 win over the Buckeyes. For the second straight time, the league named him as the top offensive performer. Against an unranked Oregon State team, Sanchez completed 18 of 29 passes for 227 yards and three scores but had one crucial interception with less than 3 minutes to play as the top-ranked Trojans got stunned by the Beavers, 21-27. Looking to get back on track, Sanchez led USC to a win over an injury-plagued and 23rd ranked Oregon team, throwing for 332 yards and three touchdowns in the 44-10 win enroute to being named as the Pac-10 Offensive Player Of The Week for the 3rd time, tying the feat accomplished by TB Reggie Bush in 2005, QB Carson Palmer in 2002, CB Antuan Simmons in 1998, WR Curtis Conway in 1992, and QB Rodney Peete in 1988 who all received the weekly accolades thrice in a season.
In that game, however, Sanchez hurt his knee, although X-rays and MRIs revealed no structural damage.
Career Stats
| Passing | ||||||||||
| Year | Cmp | Att | Yds | Cmp% | Ypa | Lng | TD | Int | Sack | Rat |
| 2006 | 3 | 7 | 63 | 42.9 | 9.00 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 89.89 |
| 2007 | 69 | 114 | 695 | 60.5 | 6.10 | 48 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 123.22 |
Highlights
| Interview with USC's Mark Sanchez (from East LA Sports Scene). |
Achievements
2008
- O'Brien National Quarterback of the Week (vs. Virginia)
- O'Brien Watch List
- Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Week (vs. Virginia, vs. Ohio State, vs. Oregon)
- Phil Steele Preseason All-Pac-10 4th Team
- Rivals.com National Player of the Week (vs. Virginia)
2007
- USC's Player of the Game versus Notre Dame Award
2005
- USC's Service Team Offensive Player of the Year Award
References
- A program in turmoil
- Mark Sanchez: The Mexican Mouthpiece
- Mark Sanchez Cfbstats.com
- Mark Sanchez ESPN.com Profile
- Mark Sanchez Scout.com Profile
- Mark Sanchez USC Profile
- Mark Sanchez Wikipedia
- Next in line?
- Sanchez gets the nod at USC
- Sanchez' Dad Speaks Out
- Santa Margarita Eagles Football Website
