Only Auggie Sanchez Days Until USF Football Season

#43 LB Auggie Sanchez
Junior, 6'2", 244 lbs.

2015 Stats: All Sanchez did last year was tie Kawika Mitchell for the second-most tackles in a season in school history. He finished with 117 tackles, far and away the most on the team. He also had 8.5 TFL, half a sack, and a fumble recovery. After the win against East Carolina, Willie Taggart called him "a badass." Auggie was named second-team all-American Athletic Conference at the end of the season.

Position on Depth Chart: Auggie is the starting MIKE or middle linebacker on the post-spring depth chart.

How He Came To USF: Sanchez played at Northeast High School in St. Petersburg, where his prolific tackling started early. He played in his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons for the Vikings and piled up 298 tackles and 39 sacks. He was a Class 7A all-state third team player as a junior, and an all-state honorable mention as a senior. Auggie's brother Armando played linebacker for the Bulls, so he was already on USF's recruiting radar long before Willie Taggart took over. In January 2013, Auggie committed to USF as well.

Recruiting Rankings: Auggie was a two-star prospect on all the recruiting sites. Kind of neat how USF is back to making really good players out of two-star recruits, isn't it?

Projected Playing Time: Sanchez is possibly USF's best defensive player and the key to the 4-2-5 on the field. Despite having two promising younger players behind him on the depth chart, Auggie will play as often as possible.

Follow Him On... Auggie's not on Twitter, but his (private) Instagram feed is at yogi1233.

Fun Fact: Armando Sanchez was a special teams ace for USF from 2009-2011. He made 33 career tackles, mostly on special teams coverage units, and blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown against FAU in 2010. After completing his degree in three years and joining the workforce, Armando did not come back for his senior year.