LOS ANGELES — Finally, it’s over. Sort of.
Tuesday after practice, USC coaches named Mark Sanchez as the starting quarterback. The redshirt junior, who backed up NFL-bound John David Booty the last two years, won the job over Arkansas transfer Mitch Mustain.
"I’m really excited," Sanchez said. "It’s a tremendous honor for me to represent my family and this team and this school."
Offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian said he wanted to name a starter Tuesday for clarity going into the final spring scrimmage this Saturday and summer workouts.
"If we’re heading into a game on Saturday, to make Mark the No. 1 guy, we feel like he gives us the best chance to win," Sarkisian said.
"We want to see how the team reacts to him before practice, how he reacts to this, and his confidence as we head into the summer."
Sarkisian was clear, however, that the quarterback competition was not over.
"When we come back in fall camp, we’ll give Aaron [Corp] and Mitch [Mustain] every chance to go out and compete and go out and win the job."
Sanchez, who started three games last season when Booty was injured, was well aware that there is no guarantee that he will be the man behind the center come Aug. 30 when the Trojans open up their season at Virginia.
"I have to remember that it’s an ongoing competition and there’s two great competitors behind me," Sanchez said.
"I can’t let up; I need to prove that I’m the starter everyday and every rep, on and off the field."
Said coach Pete Carroll: "This is really a statement of where we are right now. We’ll see what happens as we go along farther along the road. I think that Mitch and Aaron will continue to grow extremely fast once they get back to fall camp.
"It’s so important for [Mustain and Corp] to always be in contact with the thought that they’re a play away from being the starting quarterback. They have to prepare to be that guy and get in position to take that thing over."
Mustain was optimistic about his chances despite the coaches’ decision.
"It’s not a surprise to Aaron or I, but by no means do I think it’s closed," he said.
"We’re not playing a game this week, so we’ve got a long time."
Sanchez, who is very familiar with the backup quarterback role, said he understood how Mustain and Corp will feel after playing behind Booty for two years.
"It’s hard; that’s one of the toughest positions in sports, being a backup quarterback," Sanchez said.
"It’s a long season but we’re all in it together and we’re all rooting for each other, and I’ll appreciate their support."
The coaching staff was very pleased with the energy the team displayed in Tuesday’s practice.
"This is the last Tuesday that we get, so we really wanted to make it a great competition day and the guys really responded," Carroll said.
Sarkisian said it was perhaps the best practice the team has had this spring. .
"Guys were competing, guys were making plays, and that’s great for the quarterback," he said.
The Trojans have just three practices left, one of which will be Saturday’s Trojan Huddle scrimmage at the Coliseum.