Mark Sanchez

Mark Sanchez's million-dollar smile won't mean a thing if he doesn't throw touchdowns.

One of college football's top quarterbacks, the 22-year-old Sanchez suprised many – including his coach, Pete Carroll – when he decided to forgo his final year at USC to enter the NFL draft. After just one season at the the helm of one of the nation's top college football programs, the six-foot-two, 227-pounder stood out not only for his quick feet, strong arm and leadership abilities, but for his good looks.

In Southern California, the Latino community quickly embraced Sanchez, who often wore his Mexican-American pride on his sleeve – and in his mouth – despite growing up in the predominantly white Mission Viejo, California (the OC). Sanchez credits his father, a fire captain who grew up in L.A. and once played football for East L.A. College, for preparing him to deal with the pressure of being both Mexican and American. "I'm not trying to prove how Mexican I am or how American I am. If the kid who… sees my last name, sees my skin color and realizes that we're the same, if he thinks he can do something better than he could have before, then I've done my job," explains Sanchez.

Last month, the New York Jets drafted Sanchez with the hopes that he could become the face of their franchise. But Jets fans, famous for being tough on even the most popular of players, may turn on the former Trojan if he doesn't win games. The Jets are also hoping to sell tickets New York's large Hispanic community. It appears they already have. The day Sanchez was drafted, his father asked a N.Y. sports store clerk why they only had a few green and white Jets items. The clerk exclaimed: "We got a new Latino quarterback here in New York! We got somebody to represent."