Sanchez to start at QB for Trojans
October 12, 2007
Quarterback Mark Sanchez will make his first career start for No. 10 USC Trojans on Saturday, replacing the injured John David Booty against Arizona.
Coach Pete Carroll made it official after practice Thursday, though it had been speculated since the beginning of the week, when Booty was unable to throw because of the soreness and swelling in the broken middle finger on his throwing hand.
"He had a great week," said Carroll. "He's been around this offense for years. I know how excited he is - I've got to calm him down. He's ready for this. He's waited for this."
Sanchez hasn't started a game since 2004, when he was a highly touted senior at Mission Viejo High. He took first-team snaps Thursday for the fourth day in a row.
Sanchez has completed 2 of 3 passes for 23 yards with one interception this season.
"I'm excited about the opportunity," Sanchez said. "The coaches have prepared me well for this."
• Texas A&M Athletic Director Bill Byrne said he spent 2 1/2 hours reading Coach Dennis Franchione's secret e-mail newsletter, the "VIP Connection." He grew more upset with each page.
"When I first saw it, I was just very surprised," Byrne said. "The one thing you don't share is your morning injury report. I saw that and said, 'This is not OK.' "
Byrne left no doubt Thursday that Franchione's job is now in jeopardy.
During a morning news conference, Byrne said he admonished Franchione and ordered his personal Web site, href="http://CoachFran.com">CoachFran.com, shut down immediately. Byrne also fired Mike McKenzie, the author of the VIP e-mails, a part-time A&M employee and Franchione's personal assistant.
A&M officials announced Franchione violated NCAA rules by not disclosing the outside income obtained through the $1,200 newsletter subscriber fees. The e-mails mentioned the names of recruits, which is also a violation.
"I want to apologize, because the Aggies are embarrassed," Byrne said. "I want to apologize to our student-athletes, our staff and to our former students and the citizens of Texas. This has been a very unfortunate incident that we do not want to experience again."
• Riley Skinner threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Kenneth Moore in the fourth quarter to lead Wake Forest (4-2, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) past No. 21 Florida State 24-21 on Thursday night. Wake Forest beat Florida State (4-2, 1-2), a member of the ACC since 1991, in consecutive years for the first time.
