Mark Sanchez
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mark Sanchez | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| College | Southern California |
| Conference | Pac-10 |
| Sport | Football |
| Position | QB |
| Jersey # | 6 |
| Class |  Sophomore |
| Career | 2005 – present |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Nationality | USA |
| Born | November 11, 1986  Long Beach, CA |
| High school | Mission Viejo High School, Mission Viejo, CA |
| Career highlights | |
| Awards | |
| 2004 PARADE All-American Player of the Year 2004 Super Prep All-American Player of the Year |
|
Mark Sanchez (born November 11, 1986 in Long Beach, California) is a college football quarterback attending the University of Southern California (USC).
Contents |
[edit] High school career
Sanchez attended Santa Margarita Catholic High School for two years where he was privately trained by former Santa Margarita QB Chris Rix (Florida State QB 2000-2004), then transferred to Mission Viejo High School to play for his high school quarterback guru, Bob Johnson; Johnson, father of former USC and NFL quarterback Rob Johnson, was also the private coach for USC Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer.[1][2]
At Mission Viejo he threw for 2,600 yards, 29 touchdowns, and only four interceptions as a junior. With a 75 percent completion rate, he rushed for 90 yards and had a touchdown receiving on a reverse throwback. Sanchez was named a first team all-league, county, and CIF. Sanchez carried a 3.7 GPA, and was the president of the student government and captain of the basketball team.[1] As a senior, Sanchez was 114-186 for 1746 yards, 16 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, leading his team to a championship.[1] In 2004, Sanchez was named high school "Player of the Year" by several major college recruiting services; he was considered the top quarterback in the nation coming out of high school in 2005.[3] He participated in the 2005 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
[edit] College career
[edit] 2005
Sanchez was well regarded upon his arrival at USC.[1] He did not play during his freshman year and redshirted and his work as the quarterback of USC's scout team earned Sanchez the Service Team Offensive Player of the Year Award.
[edit] 2006
For the 2006 season, Sanchez competed for the starting position; however once junior John David Booty underwent back surgery after the first day of spring practice, Sanchez ran the first-team offense during the spring as Booty recuperated as coaches stated Booty would be regarded as the starting quarterback when he returned for fall training camp.[2]
On April 26, 2006, Sanchez was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault after a 19 year old female USC student accused Sanchez of pressuring her to have sexual intercourse with him despite her protests. He was released from jail the following day, after posting $200,000 bail, but USC placed him on interim suspension that suspended him from the football team yet permitted him to take his semester finals, albeit separate from the general student body and under the supervision of campus security.[4]
On June 3, 2006, 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."[5] [6] The woman involved left the university[7] and Sanchez was required to take a rape awareness class at USC.[8] USC reinstated Sanchez but he remained subject to team-related discipline for underage drinking and using fake identification on the night he was arrested.[5] 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.[4]
As a redshirt freshman, Sanchez served as the back-up quarterback to Booty, seeing playing time in three games.
[edit] 2007
In fall practice before the 2007 season, Sanchez broke the thumb in his throwing hand, missing the first game against Idaho; he returned the following week and the redshirt sophomore again served as the primary backup to senior John David Booty. Mid-season, Sanchez was moved up to starting quarterback for the game against Arizona after Booty suffered a broken finger in his throwing hand during a 24–23 upset loss to Stanford.[2]
On October 13, Sanchez led USC to a 20-13 victory, overcoming a shaky first half where he threw two key interceptions, allowing Arizona to tie the game going into halftime. During the second half, Sanchez completed 11 of 15 passes for 74 yards and a touchdown and had a key 10-yard run for a first down, ultimately finishing the game 19 for 31 passing with 130 yards and averaged 4.2 yards a play for one touchdown, two interceptions, and was sacked three times.[9] With Booty still recovering, USC elected to start Sanchez for a second straight week, this time at Notre Dame; he made significant improvements, completing 21 of 38 passes for 235 yards and four touchdowns and no interceptions.[10] On October 27, Sanchez started for the final time in place of the injured Booty, at an away game against Oregon. The game resulted in a 24-17 defeat for USC, with Sanchez having two passes intercepted by Oregon safety Matthew Harper in the second half. The first interception led to a fourth-quarter touchdown that gave Oregon a 14 point lead; the second interception ended USC's final chance for a comeback.[11] Sanchez completed 66 of 110 passes for 642 yards and seven touchdowns with four interceptions in his three starts.
The following week, against Oregon State, Booty returned as USC's starting quarterback, with Sanchez resuming his position as Booty's backup.[12]
[edit] 2008
Sanchez entered spring practice as the front-runner to take over the starting quarterback position, but faced strong competition from Arkansas-transfer and former Razorback starter Mitch Mustain and redshirt freshman Aaron Corp; Mustain, like Sanchez a year earlier, was the top quarterback in the nation coming out of high school in 2006.[3][13][14][15] By the end of spring practice, the USC coaching staff announced that Sanchez would be the designated starting quarterback going into fall camp.[16][17][18]
[edit] Personal
Sanchez is a Latino of Mexican ethnicity. His father, Nick, is a fire captain in Orange County, California.[19] His brothers, Nick Jr. (Yale, quarterback, 1992-94) and Brandon (DePauw, 1997), both played college football.
Beginning with the 2007 Notre Dame game, Sanchez started wearing a custom-made mouthpiece that features the colors of the Mexican flag in honor of his heritage.[20]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Steward Mandel, Next in line? Sanchez could be the next great Trojan QB, Sports Illustrated, January 19, 2005.
- ^ a b c Gary Klein, USC goes to backup plan, Los Angeles Times, October 12, 2007.
- ^ a b Stewart Mandel, Sanchez expected to continue USC's long line of excellence at QB, SI.com, April 18, 2008.
- ^ a b USC Suspends Football Player Under Investigation, KNBC, April 26, 2006, Accessed Oct. 18, 2006.
- ^ a b USC Quarterback Won't Face Sexual Assault Charges, Los Angeles ABC 7, June 3, 2006
- ^ USC QB Sanchez won't face sexual assault charges, Associated Press, June 3, 2006
- ^ Bill Dwyre, This USC call should be clear, Los Angeles Times, October 23, 2007.
- ^ Matt Hayes, A safe haven, not a Trojan war: USC's QB battle, Sporting News, April 1, 2008.
- ^ Ben Bolch, Sanchez overcomes shaky start for USC, Los Angeles Times, October 14, 2007.
- ^ Gary Klein, Heroes and zeros for Trojans, Los Angeles Times, October 21, 2007.
- ^ Gary Klein, Trojans' hopes get downsized, Los Angeles Times, October 28, 2007.
- ^ Gary Klein, Through it all, Booty focuses on winning, Los Angeles Times, November 2, 2007.
- ^ Gary Klein, USC plans to have starting quarterback in place by summer, Los Angeles Times, March 26, 2008.
- ^ Tim Griffin, Quarterback battles, defensive replacements key to Pac-10 spring practices, ESPN.com, February 27. 2008.
- ^ Stewart Mandel, Spring primer, SI.com, March 6, 2008.
- ^ Gary Klein, Sanchez gets the nod at USC, Los Angeles Times, April 16, 2008.
- ^ Josh Jovanelly, Sanchez gets nod as starting quarterback, Los Angeles Times, April 16, 2008.
- ^ Cory McCartney, Spring's biggest winners and losers, SI.com, May 1, 2008, Accessed May 3, 2008.
- ^ Gary Klein, USC's Mark Sanchez appears likely to get start, Los Angeles Times, October 10, 2007.
- ^ Gary Klein, Sanchez is prepared for Oregon noise, Los Angeles Times, October 23, 2007.
