As was widely expected, USC Trojan quarterback Mark Sanchez is skipping his senior year to join the National Football League, according to unidentified sources who have spoken to several news outlets, including the L.A. Daily News and L.A. Times. According to these stories, the Rose Bowl Offense MVP is ranked second — behind the Georgia Bulldogs' Matthew Stafford — among the collegiate gridiron stars to leave school to enter the 2009 NFL draft. An announcement is expected later today, which is the deadline date to file NFL-draft paper work. Sanchez will not be a college dropout, however, since he'll get his Communications degree this spring. Update: An announcement confirming Sanchez's leaving the university was made this morning at USC's Heritage Hall.

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