New Starting Quarterback for USC This Weekend

I normally don't care about USC football except that this weekend they'll have a new starting quarterback, a kid I watched for two years at Mission Viejo High School:

There were times Mark Sanchez thought his opportunity at USC might never arrive.

The former Mission Viejo High quarterback sat behind Matt Leinart and John David Booty in 2005, backed up Booty last season and seemed destined for another season of mop-up duty as part of the run-up for a battle with Arkansas transfer Mitch Mustain in the spring.

But Coach Pete Carroll officially pushed up Sanchez's schedule Thursday when he announced that the third-year sophomore would start Saturday's Pacific 10 Conference game against Arizona at the Coliseum.

The last time Sanchez started a game was in 2004 when he led the Diablos to the CIF title in a game at Anaheim Stadium. He had some legal run-ins earlier in his time at USC that threatened to end his career altogether, but after resolving those issues he finally gets his shot at starter. Good luck, Mark!