Mark Sanchez is a quarterback for the New York Jets. After leading USC to its fourth straight Rose Bowl appearance, Sanchez chose to forgo his final year of eligibility and enter the 2009 NFL Draft. Sanchez is 6-feet, 3-inches tall and weighs 225 pounds.

Sanchez spent his first two years of high school at Santa Margarita High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA. He moved to Mission Viejo High School in 2003 and led the team to a 13-1 record. He completed 161-of-211 passes (76.3%) for 2,460 yards with 29 TDs and seven interceptions. As a senior, Sanchez was 151-of-245 (61.6%) for 2,441 yards with 24 TDs, despite sitting out eight halves due to blowouts. Mission Viejo High School went 14-0 and finished third in the USA Today Super 25 Football Rankings. Sanchez was the Parade Player of the Year and a consensus first team All-America. After considering Notre Dame, Texas, Florida and Ohio State, Sanchez signed with USC.

With Matt Leinart entrenched as the starter, Mark Sanchez redshirted the 2005 season. He was involved in an off-field incident during the spring, when a female USC student accused him of sexual assault. He was placed on interim suspension from the football team, but was reinstated when the case was dropped in June. He made his college football debut later that season, backing up John David Booty. He appeared in six games, completing 3-of-7 passes as USC went 11-2 and won the Rose Bowl. Sanchez saw more action in 2007, thanks to an injury to Booty. He made three starts, beating Arizona and Notre Dame before losing to Oregon. Against Arizona he threw for 130 yards, a TD and two interceptions. The next week against Notre Dame he threw for 235 yards and four touchdowns. He had 277 yards passing and two touchdowns against Oregon, but also threw a pair of interceptions in the loss. He finished the season with 695 passing yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions. Sanchez beat out Arkansas transfer Mitch Mustain and redshirt freshman Aaron Corp for the starting job in spring practice in 2008. However, in the first week of fall practice, Sanchez suffered a dislocated kneecap that jeopardized his starting status. He missed three weeks of practice, but returned in time for the regular season opener against Virginia. Sanchez threw for a career-best 338 yards in that game, including three touchdowns. He had at least three TD passes in each of USC's first four games of the season, including a loss to Oregon State. Sanchez capped off his season with an MVP performance against Penn State in the Rose Bowl, throwing for 413 yards and four touchdowns. Sanchez finished the season with 3,207 passing yards and 34 touchdowns, both of which led the Pac-10. He was a first team All-Pac-10 selection and earned honorable mention All-America honors from Sports Illustrated.

Sanchez was drafted in the first round (5th overall) in the 2009 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. New York traded three players and two draft picks to the Cleveland Browns to move up and acquire the pick used to draft Sanchez. Before the 2009 season, Sanchez signed a 5-year/$50M deal with $28 million guaranteed. Sanchez also posed for a photo spread in GQ Magazine. After the first two preseason games, Sanchez was named the Jets starting quarterback for the 2009 regular-season opener at Houston. He became the first rookie QB to start Week 1 for the Jets since their inaugural season in 1960. Sanchez led the Jets to a win over the Texans in his NFL debut, throwing for 272 yards and a touchdown. Sanchez led the Jets to a 3-0 start in 2009, becoming the first rookie quarterback since the AFL-NFL merger to start and win his team's first three games of the season, and earning offensive Rookie of the Month honors for September. However, he threw eight interceptions in the next three games combined, as the Jets fell to 3-3 Sanchez helped stop the Jets losing streak, leading them to a 38-0 win at Oakland. However, during that game, Sanchez was seen eating a hot dog on the sidelines. He eventually apologized for doing so. In Week 13, already nursing a sore left knee, Sanchez suffered a sprained PCL in his right knee in a win against the Bills. The injury forced him to miss the Week 14 game against the Buccaneers. He returned for the final three games of the season, leading the Jets to wins in Weeks 16 and 17 to help New York qualify for its first playoff berth since 2006. In the playoffs, Sanchez led the Jets to upset wins over the Bengals and Chargers, joining Joe Flacco as the only rookie quarterbacks to win two playoff games. However, like Flacco the year before, Sanchez fell short of the Super Bowl, as the Jets lost to the Colts in the 2009 AFC Championship Game.

Sanchez is the son of Nick and Olga Sanchez, who divorced when Mark was four years old. Mark Sanchez has two older brothers, who both played college football. His brother Nick Jr. was a quarterback at Yale and his brother Brandon was an offensive lineman at DePauw. Sanchez's high school football coach, Bob Johnson, is the father of former USC and NFL quarterback Rob Johnson. He was also a private instructor for Carson Palmer, a former Heisman Trophy-winning QB at USC.

Much of the reason Mark Sanchez had success on third down was his ability to pick apart the Texans' defense when they brought in extra defensive backs (sub small package). Houston held Sanchez and the Jets' passing game in check in its base 4-3 defense.

Mark Sanchez by Defensive Formation
Week 1 vs Texans

Defense	vs 4-3	vs 5+ DB
Comp-Att	8-17	10-14
Yards per att	8.1	9.6
TD-Int	0-1	1-0

Even in his first NFL start, Mark Sanchez was not rattled even in pressure situations - the Jets' rookie stood tall on third downs, racking up over 70 percent of his passing yards in those situations.

Mark Sanchez
Week 1 vs Texans

Down	3rd Down	All Other Downs
Comp-att	12-15	6-16
Pass yards	191	81
TD-Int	1-0	0-1
Passer Rtg	141.0	28.4

The Lions' Matthew Stafford had by far the worst outing of any rookie quarterback starting his team's opener since 2002 when the league expanded to 32 teams.

Rookie Quarterbacks
Starting Team's Opener, Since 2002

Player	TD-Int	Passer Rtg	Result
Matthew Stafford	0-3	27.4	L
Mark Sanchez	1-1	84.3	W
Matt Ryan	1-0	137.0	W
Joe Flacco	0-0	63.7	W
Kyle Orton	0-1	52.8	L
Kyle Boller	1-1	57.5	L
David Carr	2-1	78.8	W

No Jets rookie started the first game of a season since Dick Jamieson started the first game in franchise history in 1960 when the Jets were known as the New York Titans. The last Jets rookie QB to start a game was Matt Robinson on November 27, 1977 at home against Pittsburgh.

ROOKIE QUARTERBACKS TO START WEEK 1
LAST 10 SEASONS

YEAR	PLAYER	TEAM	RESULT
2008	Matt Ryan	Falcons	W, 34-21
2008	Joe Flacco	Ravens	W, 17-10
2005	Kyle Orton	Bears	L, 9-7
2003	Kyle Boller	Ravens	L, 34-15
2002	David Carr	Texans	W, 19-10
2001	Chris Weinke	Panthers	W, 24-13
2001	Quincy Carter	Cowboys	L, 10-6
>>Mark Sanchez named Jets starter for Week 1

It's safe to say Mark Sanchez should be a 1st-round pick on Saturday. If he does, he'll be the 4th USC QB to be drafted in the first round of the common draft era (since 1967). It would tie Cal for the most QB taken in the first round among the current Pac-10 teams.

Most QB Taken in 1st Round Among Current Pac-10 Teams
Common Draft Era (since 1967)

School	QB	Last one
California	4	'05 Aaron Rodgers
Oregon	3	'02 Joey Harrington
UCLA	3	'99 Cade McNown
USC	3	'06 Matt Leinart
Washington State	3	'98 Ryan Leaf
Stanford	2	'83 John Elway
Arizona State	1	'80 Mark Malone

Sanchez could become the 17th USC Trojan selected in the top 5 in the common draft era (note: Texas could also add another top 5 pick this year).

Most Players Selected in Top 5
By College, Common Draft Era

USC	16
Texas	11
Penn State	10
Miami (FL)	9
Alabama	8
Ohio State	8

If you extend the list to top 10, USC is in a class of its own.

Most Players Selected in Top 10
By College, Common Draft Era

USC	30
Penn State	18
Ohio State	17
Miami (FL)	15
Texas	15

Sanchez showed good on-field rapport with two of his top returning targets.

Sanchez Passing in 2007

Intended receiver	Turner	Hazelton
Comp-Att	14-19	15-19
Yds per comp	12.1	14.8

Mark Sanchez doesn't have a great deal of experience, but he showed flashes of ability in his three starts last season, especially in the Red Zone.

Mark Sanchez in 3 Games as USC Starter

Category	Outside Red Zone	In Red Zone
TD-Int	2-4	5-0
Pass efficiency	113.1	179.4

Mark Sanchez already looks like the next great USC quarterback, following in the footsteps of recent Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart. Through five career games, here is how Sanchez stacks up against the others:

Notable USC Quarterbacks Through 5 Career Starts

Category	Palmer	Leinart	Sanchez
W-L	3-2	4-1	4-1
Pass YPG	240.4	242.6	230.4
TD-Int	4-5	10-7	14-6
Comp pct	60.0	57.8	63.0

Mark Sanchez is quietly having a very impressive first full season as a starter, comparable to Matt Leinart's first season. Here are their stats through their first 13 career starts.

Mark Sanchez vs Matt Leinart
First 13 Career Starts

Category	Sanchez	Leinart
Seasons	2007-08	2003
W-L	11-2	12-1
Pass YPG	223.1	273.5
TD-Int	33-11	38-9
Comp pct	.618	.634

Most Passing Yards
Rose Bowl History

Year	Player, School	Pass Yds
1995	Danny O'Neil, Oregon	456
2009	Mark Sanchez, USC	413
1963	Ron Vander Kelen, Wisconsin	401
2007	John David Booty, USC	391
1996	Brad Otton, USC	391

Highest Comp Pct
Rose Bowl History

Player	School	Comp Pct
'09 Mark Sanchez	USC	80.0<<
'51 Chuck Ortmann	MICH	78.9
'86 Chuck Long	IOWA	78.4
'06 Vince Young	TEX	75.0
'35 Millard Howell	ALA	75.0
>>28 for 35

LEGENDARY PERFORMANCES IN ROSE BOWL

Player	Vince Young	Mark Sanchez
School/Year	Texas '06	USC '09
Pass Yards	267	413
Total Yards	467	429
TD-Int	0-0	4-0
Comp pct	75.0	80.0
Total TD	3	5

MOST PASS TD IN SINGLE SEASON, USC HISTORY

Player	TD	Season
Matt Leinart	38	2003
Mark Sanchez	34	2008
Matt Leinart	33	2004
Carson Palmer	33	2002

Mark Sanchez, 2008 Season

Category	Total	Pac-10 Rank
Pass YPG	246.7	1st
Comp pct	65.8	1st
Pass TD	34<<	1st
Pass effic	164.7	1st
<<2nd-most in USC history

Pac-10 Quarterbacks Selected in 1st Round
Last 15 Years

Year	Player	School	Team
2006	Matt Leinart	USC	Cardinals
2005	Aaron Rodgers	California	Packers
2003	Carson Palmer	USC	Bengals
2003	Kyle Boller	California	Ravens
2002	Joey Harrington	Oregon	Lions
1999	Cade McNown	UCLA	Bears
1999	Akili Smith	Oregon	Bengals
1998	Ryan Leaf	Washington St	Charger

Mark Sanchez ranked 8th in the nation and 4th among BCS-conference quarterbacks in completion percentage on 3rd-and-long (7 or more yards).

Highest Completion Percentage on 3rd-and-long
BCS Conference Quarterbacks, 2008 Season

Player	School	Comp Pct
Colt McCoy	Texas	76.0
Daryll Clark	Penn State	70.6
Willie Tuitama	Arizona	67.7
Mark Sanchez	USC	65.8
>>min. 25 attempts

USC Quarterbacks Drafted in 1st Round
Common Draft Era (since 1967)

Year	Player	Team
2006	Matt Leinart	Cardinals
2003	Carson Palmer	Bengals
1991	Todd Marinovich	Raiders

Most QB Selected in 1st Round
Since 2000

USC	2	Matt Leinart, Carson Palmer
California	2	Aaron Rodgers, Kyle Boller
Marshall	2	Byron Leftwich, Chad Pennington
Tulane	2	J.P. Losman, Patrick Ramsey

Most QB Drafted Since 2002

USC	4
Ohio State	3
LSU	3
Louisville	3
Michigan	3
Oregon	3
>> 2002: first draft featuring players coached by Pete Carroll

USC quarterback Mark Sanchez has thrown at least 1 touchdown pass in every game this season.

USC quarterback Mark Sanchez has been efficient for the Trojans. Since a lackluster performance against Arizona State in mid-October (3 interceptions), Sanchez has completed 64.9 pct of his passes (120-185) with 16 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions in 6 games.

Four USC QBs have been selected in the last six drafts: John David Booty (2008, 5th round), Matt Leinart (2006, #10 overall), Matt Cassel (2005, 7th round), and Carson Palmer (2003, #1 overall). But no USC player has reached the 20,000-yard mark in the NFL and only one has thrown as many as 100 touchdowns: Most passing yards by USC QBs: Rodney Peete, 16,338; Carson Palmer, 15,630; Bill Nelsen, 14,165; Vince Evans, 9485; Pat Haden, 9296. Most TD passes by USC QBs: Carson Palmer, 107; Bill Nelsen, 98; Rodney Peete, 76; Rudy Bukich, 61; Jim Hardy, 54.