Mark Sanchez

About Mark Sanchez

Mark Sanchez (born November 11, 1986 in Long Beach, California) is a college football quarterback attending the University of Southern California (USC).

Sanchez attended Santa Margarita Catholic High School for two years, 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. 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. As a senior, Sanchez was 114-186 for 1746 yards, 16 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, leading his team to a championship.

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. He participated in the 2005 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Sanchez was aggressively recruited by several college programs, including Texas, Notre Dame, Nebraska and Ohio State; ultimately he chose USC in the summer before his senior year.