"He's got all the tools and he's got a great attitude, so I'm just really pulling for him. I'm really excited for him and I wish him the best," Sanchez said inside the Annenberg auditorium.
Sanchez drew parallels between their experiences last year.
"The Sanchize" burst onto the NFL scene in the "Big Apple" before turnovers plagued his midseason form. Meanwhile, Barkley was crowned a superstar after leading USC past Ohio State on a last second drive before growing pains caught up with him at times during the conference schedule.
"Similar situation to where I am at now, you learn so much just by playing. I was so happy for him, so proud of him because of the way he played last year, even the way he played in the bowl game, just like the way I was trying to play in the playoffs," said Sanchez, who led the New York Jets to the AFC Championship Game.
"We had very similar years last year, ups and downs. Both of us would agree that we threw too many interceptions but that's a part of playing your first year."
Sanchez expects Barkley's experience to pay off going forward.
"It's so fun for him and I'm so happy to see him go through this with four years to start here. He will be so well prepared for the next level."
As for his beloved Trojans, Sanchez is not jumping on any gloom and doom bandwagons.
"They'll be fine. They'll be fine. People need to realize it's still SC. They've still got great players and they'll be just fine."
