Sanchez, not Mustain, Favorite to Follow Booty

This week is USC’s third week of spring practice and the third week that sophomore Mitch Mustain and junior Mark Sanchez have been competing for the USC quarterback position. Unlike the previous two weeks, when Mark Sanchez shared some of the first-team snaps with Mustain and redshirt freshmen Aaron Corp, Sanchez has been taking every snap.

According to several coaches, Sanchez appears to be the favorite due to his efficiency that was most evident during last Sunday’s scrimmage.

“I’ve really made a concerted effort to be efficient and take care of the ball and I’m accomplishing my goal so far,” said Sanchez in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. “We have six more practices and I have to do the same thing.”

Offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian was one of many coaches, who were pleased with Sanchez, praising his command and tempo.

“Even the mistakes that appear that he’s made haven’t necessarily been all his,” said Sarkisian. “There’s obviously a lot of room for improvement still, but I like where he’s at.”

Mitch Mustain, who started eight games at Arkansas in 2006 and transferred to USC a year ago, appears to be trailing Sanchez in the race to become John David Booty’s successor. During Sunday’s scrimmage, Mustain struggled against the first-team defense, but did manage to throw for three touchdowns against the reserves. Despite some solid performances, he appears to be sharing more and more second-team snaps with Aaron Corp.

Get ready for a year of Mark Sanchez, the Leinart-like partier, not the ‘ol country boy Mitch Mustain.