LOS ANGELES — Former USC and NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez is now involved in a lawsuit in addition to a possible felony battery charge and several misdemeanor charges due to a Saturday night altercation in Indianapolis.
USC head coach Lincoln Riley gave a comment to reporters after practice on Tuesday regarding the situation.
“All I’m going to say about that – prayers are with everybody involved,” USC head coach Lincoln Riley told reporters. “I don’t know much about the situation, but it sounds like a really tough situation, and I just hope everyone involved is OK.”
Sanchez played at USC from 2005 to 2008 and started in three games in 2007. He became the Trojans’ full-time starting quarterback in 2008 and helped USC go 12-1 with a Rose Bowl victory over Penn State under Coach Pete Carroll.
The New York Jets selected Sanchez, a former Mission Viejo High standout, in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft.
J’Onre Reed embracing starting job
Kilian O’Connor is expected to miss the next two games due to injury, which means J’Onre Reed is stepping into the starting center spot.
“I feel ready. I feel prepared,” Reed said. “Since I’ve been here and since Kilian has been the starter and everything, I’ve been in the back just taking more mental reps, having my head deeper in the playbook.
“They always told me be ready, man, your time will come and whenever it does come, we know you’re going to be prepared. And when the time came, they had no doubt about it.”
O’Connor left the Illinois game – which was USC’s first loss of the season – in the second quarter due to an apparent lower-body injury. Reed came in to replace him, marking his first game appearance for USC this season and first overall since Dec. 27, 2024 when he was playing for Syracuse.
Reed was the reason for an illegal man downfield penalty that negated a touchdown against Illinois, but he adjusted well after the mishap.
“It wasn’t my best performance, but just had to get going,” Reed said. “It had just been a little minute since I stepped into a game so once I got going, got rolling, in that second half, I felt more comfortable. The guys beside me started hearing my calls. They understood how I was speaking and we just got rolling and we started playing like a fist towards the end.”
Riley said left tackle Elijah Paige is close to returning after dealing with an apparent lower-body injury.
“I think he’s got a chance,” Riley said. “It’s not a shoe-in. It’s just kind of been a nagging injury that he’s dealt with that you just try to manage the best that you can. The bye week was definitely helpful.”
The Trojans’ offensive line has protected quarterback Jayden Maiava well this season, giving up just three sacks in five games. USC is also averaging 338 passing yards and 227 rushing yards per game this season.
Cornerback to return soon
Former four-star recruit Alex Graham is expected to return soon and add support to a cornerback room that has been struggling this season.
“We’ll keep repping him and hopefully get him ready to help us here in the near future,” Riley told reporters. “I don’t know if it’ll be this week. But it’s actually been faster than we expected, given the nature of the injury.”
Graham was able to heal and take more repetitions than usual due to the bye week. He has yet to play in a game this season due to an undisclosed injury that occurred prior to the start of the season.