LOS ANGELES — The star quarterback from Orange County wowed the estimated 22,000 fans that filled the Coliseum for Saturday’s Trojan Huddle.
Only it wasn’t Mark Sanchez.
Redshirt freshman Aaron Corp threw a 25-yard touchdown to wide receiver Travon Patterson to give the White team, composed of the first-team defense and second-unit offense, a 39-36 win over the Cardinal team in double overtime.
"I was feeling it. It was like a game out there," USC coach Pete Carroll said.
Corp, who starred at Orange Lutheran, completed 13 of 16 passes for 158 yards and two scores.
"It gave me more confidence going into fall," he said. "Hopefully, I can build from here, just make [the coaches’ decision] a little tougher this fall."
Though he was third on the depth chart Carroll released Friday, Corp showed tremendous improvement over the course of 15 spring practices.
"He knows a lot of football," offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian said. "The biggest thing that came out today [is] he trusted himself. He didn’t overthink things; he reacted and threw the ball on time and was able to make plays."
Named the starter Tuesday, Sanchez was also effective as he threw touchdown passes of 8, 37 and 6 yards against the No. 1 defense.
He also had the day’s only interception on an attempted flea-flicker, as Sanchez’s throw under duress went straight to linebacker Luthur Brown.
Carroll said Sanchez took to the role of starting quarterback "very comfortably" in the last week of spring practice.
"It just started to click," Sanchez said.
Sanchez’s top challenger, Arkansas transfer Mitch Mustain, was 6 of 10 for 111 yards and two scores, including a Reggie Bush-like effort by wide receiver Brandon Carswell as he cut back across the field for a 55-yard touchdown reception.
While the quarterbacks were effective, the running game was never able to get on track. Junior Stafon Johnson led the way with 13 carries for 58 yards and a touchdown. The other four backs — C.J. Gable, Allen Bradford, Broderick Green and Marc Tyler — managed only 28 yards on 19 attempts.
Tyler also fumbled twice, one of which was scooped up by linebacker Chris Galippo, who ran back 34 yards for a touchdown.
Galippo, who missed most of last season with a back injury, dominated the scrimmage with nine tackles, six for loss, three sacks and two fumble recoveries.
"Gosh, he was all over the place. He was making every play it seemed like," Carroll said.
Though they escaped the spring without any serious injuries, the Trojans got a scare on the first play of the day when starting defensive end Everson Griffen sprained his ankle.
In the first overtime, senior Patrick Turner took a brutal hit from safety Taylor Mays but was able to walk off the field under his own power.