USC = Duke?

Well, on its face, the comparison seems quite obvious. Both are powerhouses in college sports, the former more so in college football, the latter decidedly in college basketball.

So yeah, on that level, sure. But, after Mark Sanchez decided to go pro last week, I got to thinking: is this perennial Pac-10 powerhouse putting out a comparable amount of great pro players? (Enough p-words?)

For a school nicknamed "Tailback U", for a school that has a reputation, at least in recent history, for being know for its great offense, the answer isn't as favorable as you might think.

Let's take a quick look at some of the offensive skill players drafted in recent years.

2007

2nd Round - Dwayne Jarrett, Steve Smith

2006

1st Round - Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart

2nd Round - LenDale White

2005

1st Round - Mike Williams

2004

2nd Round - Keary Colbert

2003

1st Round - Carson Palmer

2000

1st Round - R. Jay Soward

1996

1st Round - Keyshawn Johnson

Out of that list, there's only two that I could say have been or were good pro's: Keyshawn Johnson and Carson Palmer. But, both come with asterisks. Johnson's being that he truly was a disappointment, having been a Heisman Trophy winner, and (more importantly) a number one overall pick (only four thousand yard seasons and one 10 TD year in 11?). Then again, if he was a disappointment, then fellow number one pick Palmer would have to be as well. Thus far in his young career, he has been with only having had two really good seasons, the rest either average-poor or injured.

Of the rest, how many do you remember being very good at USC? Having a ton of potential, being highly rated, having bigtime college careers? Most, if not all of them (and that's not even including the John David Booty's and Chauncey Washington's)

Most of those guys haven't been nearly as good (nor project to be) in the pro's. Jarret and Smith have been average receivers early on. Bush has developed a rep as being a soft player, in addition to being a largely useless player. As far as Leinart's concerned, two words sum up his value: Kurt Warner. LenDale White seemed more likely to eat his way out the league before gobbling up all of Chris Johnson's TD's this year. Mike Williams' is obviously the biggest bust as he barely has even played, and Keary Colbert, unfortunately continues to play, just at a very poor level. Finally, Soward never did much in the NFL because of a little thing called reefer.

So, back to the title, USC = Duke? Well, yes. Because, as I've just shown you, USC seems to have developed a reputation for putting formerly great college players into the professional ranks and watch them disappointment.

Duke? Well, we all know their history...William Avery, Jason Williams, Trajan Langdon, Bobby Hurley, J.J. Reddick, Christian Laettner, Shelden Williams...I think I've made my point there.

And thus, my overarching theme here is, don't get crazy over Mark Sanchez because he's leaving early and bucking trends and any of that nonsense. Get crazy because, frankly, USC hasn't produced a ton of great offensive pro's in recent memory. Kind of like Duke.

Lay off, Pete Carroll

Mark Sanchez is going pro even though his coach doesn't like it.

The fourth-year junior quarterback from the University of Southern California decided Thursday that he wanted to live out his childhood dream, despite coach Pete Carroll's warning that going pro early might be a mistake.

"Mark is going against the grain on this decision and he knows that," Carroll said at Sanchez scheduled news conference yesterday at USC. "He knows that coming out early is a tremendous challenge for a quarterback and the statistics don't back up that it's easy to be successful in the way that he's going about it."

Sanchez may not be the top pick, and the odds might be against him, so says his coach. But he's banking on the fact that NFL scouts will fall in love with his physical tools and will overlook his lack of experience as a college quarterback. (And apparently that wasn't an issue for Matt Cassel, another former USC QB, who hadn't started since high school when he lead the Patriots to an impressive 11-5 season.) He'll also count on the program he came from to entice NFL teams to take him early. USC has had two quarterbacks drafted in the top ten in the last six years: the aformentioned Leinart and Carson Palmer, who was drafted 1st overall in 2002.

And Sam Bradford is returning to Oklahoma for his junior season.

He's also hoping that his excellent season will launch him up the charts. His 3,207 passing yards ranked him 20th in the FBS this past season, and he tossed 34 touchdown passes while only throwing 10 interceptions. Against the top competition in the country, Sanchez was superb, throwing 4 touchdowns against Ohio State, 4 against Penn State, and 3 in Eugene against Oregon. Granted, the offense he ran was a well-oiled machine, but Sanchez showed great skill managing the offense and making big plays when necessary.

He might not be quite ready for the NFL. Pete Carroll definitely doesn't think so. And while Carroll may say he has Sanchez best interests at heart, he has to consider what's best for his program too. Sanchez staying for his senior year would sure up Carroll's quarterback situation for next season as they try again to compete for a national championship.

But Sanchez could be the number one pick in April's draft. Scouts suggest he'll likely be one of the top two quarterbacks taken. Either Sanchez or Georgia's Matthew Stafford will likely be the first quarterback selected, according to ESPN's Todd McShay. The Lions might decide to take a quarterback with the first pick, making Sanchez a viable candidate for the top spot. How can he not go after that opportunity, even if he's not ready?

With the collective bargaining agreement likely to change soon in the NFL, players should take advantage of the defunct system currently in place. With the type of money top draft picks make in this day and age, athletes that have the chance to be top picks should go for it. So what if they don't pan out? The guaranteed money they'll make from their rookie contracts will financially support them comfortably for a long time. And unless they spend it poorly, the signing bonus could probably set them up for life. If Sanchez really has a shot at that kind of cash, he should take it, even if his NFL career won't be legendary.

It was the guy's childhood dream to play in the NFL. He didn't grow up dreaming of playing four years at USC. Take it easy there Pete.