Quarterback Mark Sanchez is putting away his helmet and heading to ABC/ESPN to be a college football analyst, The Post has learned.
Sources tell The Post the former Jets quarterback’s main job will be in ABC’s lead college football studio, where he will join Kevin Negandhi and Jon Vilma. Sanchez is replacing Mack Brown, who left to coach North Carolina.
Sanchez, 32, played 10 years in the NFL, beginning his career by going to back-to-back AFC Championships and playing well enough to inspire his coach, Rex Ryan, to ink a tattoo of Ryan’s wife wearing Sanchez’s No. 6 jersey. Ryan is also an ESPN football analyst.
After the strong first two seasons, Sanchez’s pro career went downhill and he may be most remembered for the “butt fumble.” In a Thanksgiving game against the Patriots in 2012, Sanchez ran into the backside of offensive lineman Brandon Moore. ESPN replayed the blooper endlessly.
After five years with the Jets, Sanchez bounced around the NFL, spending time with the Eagles, Bears, Cowboys and Redskins. In two games in Washington last year, he was 19-for-35 for 128 yards. He threw no touchdowns and three interceptions.
Sanchez’s move adds another big name to the Saturday college football scene. Besides ESPN’s “GameDay,” Fox is debuting a new studio show that will feature another USC quarterback, Matt Leinart, former Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, another USC standout in Reggie Bush and former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer.
Sanchez auditioned with Fox Sports, too, according to a source. Fox liked him, but didn’t really have a spot for him in its college studio or top games, making the decision easier for Sanchez.
Sanchez left USC after his junior season and became the fifth pick of the 2009 draft by the Jets.