Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. Or, at least, the Wicked Witch of the West Coast Offense. She flew over Howard Jones Field all during Fall camp, spreading her infamous injury bug.
While Mark Sanchez seems to have completely recovered from her scourge and his dislocated knee, the injury did keep him from playing in the Trojans' two controlled scrimmages at the Coliseum as well as the final Mock Game.
The last game-type action that Sanchez saw was the annual "Huddle," which marked the end of spring practice. Neither Sanchez nor Mitch Mustain looked particularly great that day. The one quarterback who did was Aaron Corp, listed as No. 3 on the depth chart at the time.
In 2007, Sanchez appeared in eight games and was 69-of-114 (60 percent) passing for 694 yards with seven touchdowns and five interceptions. He started three games for the injured John David Booty.
His best performance was at Notre Dame, where he was 21-of-38 for 235 yards with four TDs and no interceptions. USC won that game 38-0. In the loss at Oregon, Sanchez was 26-of-41 for 277 yards with two TDs and two interceptions.
While there may still be some question about how much the knee injury may hamper him, there is the greater question of whether he is game-ready as far as his overall conditioning.
The same is true of the offensive line, which has only one full-time starter, left guard Jeff Byers, returning from last year. However, he missed most of Fall camp with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, of all things. Zack Heberer, the right guard, also missed much of Fall camp with an injury. Both Byers and Heberer have been back for a week now.
The good news for Virginia is that it usually takes an offensive line a month or so to really feel comfortable working together. In that regard, Virginia is fortunate that they are playing the Trojans early.
The bad news for the Cavaliers is that the injury bug seems to be in remission. Not only is Sanchez coming around, but versatile running back C.J. Gable returned to practice yesterday from an ankle and hip sprain and had a terrific day running the ball. Also, cornerback Cary Harris returned with a brace on his sprained shoulder.
But enough about the Trojans. How about this week’s opponent, the Virginia Cavaliers?
Head coach Al Groh shares several similarities with Pete Carroll. They were both NFL coaches and both served as a head coach of the New York Jets.
Both have a son on their coaching staff. Brandon Carroll coaches the tight ends and is the Trojans recruiting coordinator. Mike Groh is Virginia’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Both Carroll and Groh are starting their eighth year as head coaches at their respective schools.
But there, the similarity ends. Carroll has been highly successful with a 76-14 record. Overall, Groh has had only modest success. His record stands exactly at .500 (77-77) in the collegiate ranks but a very decent 51-37 at Virginia.
His current squad has only ten returning starters from last fall's 9-4 Gator Bowl team, which means he is counting on a number of inexperienced players to step up.
OFFENSE
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