USA Today: No USC 'glamour boy,' Sanchez makes case as best QB in draft
 

No USC 'glamour boy,' Sanchez makes case as best QB in draft
By Jim Corbett, USA TODAY
INDIANAPOLIS — Let it fly.

Southern California quarterback Mark Sanchez couldn't pass on another opportunity to win.

Sanchez said it would kill him not to throw at the scouting combine. So the junior with 16 starts on his résumé took part in every drill Sunday, impressing personnel evaluators and coaches.


Sanchez flashed polished mechanics and footwork plus pinpoint accuracy while throwing on the move. Most significant, he projected a sense of fun under scrutiny.

From the relaxed way he spun the football in his throwing hand just before firing a pass to the casual way Sanchez joked and threw during warm-ups with his chief draft rival and close friend, Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford, Sanchez oozed confidence.

With Stafford, widely projected as the top quarterback in the draft, opting not to throw, Sanchez chose the path not taken by many elite quarterbacks over the years, including past No. 1 overall picks Peyton and Eli Manning and last year's top quarterback selection, Matt Ryan.

"The thing I loved about Sanchez more than how he threw or what he threw was the fact that he did every drill," NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock says.

"What he's trying to say is, 'I'm not a prototypical, USC glamour boy. I'm here because I love to compete.' "

Sanchez doesn't have the howitzer arm of former Trojan Carson Palmer. But he's trying to stiff-arm Hollywood perceptions that dogged previous USC standout Matt Leinart, now a backup with the Arizona Cardinals.

"When Sanchez walks into a room, he's running the show," ESPN analyst Todd McShay says. "He's confident, a competitor and a gym rat. ... He's much more athletic than people give him credit for. And he sells pump fakes and gets defensive backs to bite more than most quarterbacks."

When asked about the dizzying lineup of 15-minute team interviews each night, Sanchez had the line of the combine, saying, "It's like speed dating."

Does Sanchez think he deserves to be the No. 1 pick over Stafford? "Absolutely," Sanchez says. "I'd better think that. And I think he should think that, too."

Sanchez says he and USC coach Pete Carroll are fine after Carroll initially said the underclassman needed another year of collegiate seasoning.

"If you know coach, you know how competitive he is," Sanchez says. "I took that as a sign of respect. A very good football coach wanted me back on that team."

But there's no looking back for Sanchez. "I'm ready for this league," he says.

Gee I wonder how this will turn out.....people see what they wanna see based on their personal opinion of him.

Hell we got a guy here who actually used a character assassination argument.

Over the last two days at work, listening to ESPN Radio, everyone who talked about the combines said that Sanchez impressed scouts and team officials with his mechanics, his maturity, and his confidence without arrogance.

I didn't think hs mechanics looked as clean and fluid as he usually displayed in games, but I guess he didn't hurt himself at all with that.

The fact is, even though his mechanics weren't as near flawless as I'm used to seeing, they still were pretty good.

The only bad thing about his mechanics was that he was guiding the ball rather than throwing it. That's why he had a little bit of a longer over the top loop than just snapping it in there.

Confidence what are you talking about man, according to sensiblechiefsfan, he's an arrogant douchebag that deserves to fall on his face.

I was thinking of Sensible when I kept hearing all of these guys talking about Sanchez's lack of arrogance, his confidence and maturity.

It was 4 or 5 different guys who were talking about how scouts and personnel people liked these qualities in Sanchez.

It's like the anti QB crowd is making up reasons to stay away from QB in the draft.

It's funny how every writer interprets Sanchez's body language differently. Some thought he had nervous energy bubbling over, others say he was calm. It's impossible to tell unless you were down on the field with him. I'll give him the polished footwork, but "pinpoint accuracy" in the drills? C'mon.

Wow this is like the all star draft talk team right here... Im still in the draft a qb or bust camp for wat its worth..

I not part of the QB or bust crowd, I'm in the Stafford/Sanchez/Curry crowd. I'd prefer a QB, but if both are for some reason gone or the staff goes with Curry I wouldn't throw a fit.