Mark Sanchez Rookie Card
The Mark Sanchez Rookie Card is unique. In his rookie campaign, Sanchez became only the 4th rookie quarterback to carry his team to a conference championship game.
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US $49.95
Mark Sanchez set the foundation for NFL success in college. In the 2008 college football season, Mark Sanchez stepped up into the role as the dominant college quarterback people have come to expect out of Southern Cal. He began the season strong as he torched a supposedly dominant Ohio State team in week 2 for 4 touchdowns.
Leading his team to the Rose Bowl, Sanchez brushed aside another strong Big Ten opponent as the Trojans dismantled Penn State with 413 yards passing and 4 more touchdowns.
His junior season was a coming out party, but his early entry to the NFL draft was questioned by his USC coach Pete Carroll. Carroll wrote that Sanchez was going “against the odds” and implied that Sanchez did not have a complete body of work with his lone complete season as the Trojan starter.
It is quite evident that Carroll did not really think that Mark Sanchez would legitimately have a tough transition to the professional game. Carroll was more in dire need for his star quarterback to remain at USC for another season as the Trojans failed to compete for the Pac-10 title.
Mark Sanchez may be “challenging the process” as his former coach would go on to say, but the main reason Pete Carroll didn’t want him to go to the draft is he’d be losing a hell of a quarterback. Not only has Sanchez flourished in his first year as the starting quarterback in New York, Pete Carroll has since gone on to “challenge the process” at the professional level himself, taking over the head-coaching position with the Seattle Seahawks.
Mark Sanchez has built upon his college success and may have been even better in his first year as a professional. In leading the New York Jets to the playoffs, Sanchez is giving the Jets organization something to build upon.
Coming out early did not hurt his draft stock, chosen 5th, or the expectations that the Jets have put on him in replacing Brett Favre in becoming the future-face of the franchise. So far, Mark Sanchez has shown he can live up to those expectations during the Jets 2010 playoff run.
Based solely on his rookie campaign, the Mark Sanchez Rookie Card is another must-have. For Jets fans everywhere, there is much optimism for the years still to come.