Matt Leinart: The Rise and Fall of a USC Legend

Matthew Stephen Leinart, born on May 11, 1983, is a former American professional football quarterback whose college career with the USC Trojans cemented him as one of the most decorated players in college football history. From winning the Heisman Trophy to leading USC to a national championship, Leinart's time in college was filled with accolades and unforgettable moments. However, his NFL career did not reach the same heights.

Early Life and High School Career

Leinart was born in Santa Ana, California. He was born with strabismus, commonly known as "crossed eyes," where his left eye was not correctly aligned with his right. He underwent surgery at the age of three to correct the problem and was fitted with special glasses. Leinart attended Mater Dei High School, where he lettered in both football and basketball. As a junior, he led his team to a California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division I co-championship and was named the Serra League's Offensive Most Valuable Player. As a senior, he was named the California Gatorade Player of the Year, throwing for 2,870 yards and 28 touchdowns.

College Career at USC (2001-2005)

Leinart considered Oklahoma but signed with USC in 2001, where he played for coach Pete Carroll's USC Trojans football team. He redshirted his first season in 2001. In 2002, as a freshman, he understudied senior quarterback Carson Palmer, who won the Heisman Trophy and was drafted first overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2003 NFL draft. Leinart appeared in only a few plays and did not throw any passes.

2003 Season: Stepping into the Spotlight

After winning a hard-fought battle in the spring of 2003 for the starting job, he burst onto the scene as a redshirt sophomore. Leinart's first career pass was a touchdown against Auburn in a 23-0 victory in the season opener. He won the first three games of his career before the then-#3 Trojans suffered a 34-31 triple-overtime defeat to California on September 27. Leinart and the Trojans bounced back the next week against Arizona State. Leinart and the Trojans won their final eight games and finished the regular season 11-1 and ranked No. 1 in the AP and coaches' polls. However, USC was left out of the BCS championship game after finishing third in the BCS behind Oklahoma and LSU. The Trojans went to the Rose Bowl and played Michigan. He threw for 3,556 yards and a then-Pac-10 record 38 touchdowns as the Trojans won the 2003 national title. Leinart finished sixth in the Heisman vote and entered the 2004 season as the front runner for the award.

2004 Season: Heisman Glory and National Championship

Leinart had another fine year, passing for 2,990 yards and 28 TDs with just 6 interceptions, while also rushing for three TDs. In 2004, USC went wire-to-wire at No. 1 in the polls and earned a bid to the BCS title game at the Orange Bowl against Oklahoma, which was also 12-0. More importantly, he led the Trojans to an undefeated regular season and a berth in the BCS title game. The Trojan quarterback beat out Oklahoma’s Adrian Peterson and Jason White, Utah’s Alex Smith and teammate Reggie Bush to win the trophy. A dream matchup on paper (including White vs. Leinart, which was to be the first time two Heisman winners would play against each other), the Orange Bowl turned out to be a rout, as Leinart threw for five touchdown passes on 18-for-35 passing and 332 yards to lead the Trojans to a 55-19 victory. Leinart received Orange Bowl MVP honors and the Trojans claimed their first BCS National Championship and second straight No. 1 ranking in the AP poll.

2005 Season: The Final Year

Leinart decided to stay in school for one more season in an attempt to win a third-straight title and a record-tying second Heisman in 2005. Against Notre Dame, Leinart threw for a career-high 400 yards. After an incomplete pass and a sack led to a fourth-and-nine situation with 1:36 left-at the Trojans' own 26-yard line, Leinart called an audible "slant and go" route at the line of scrimmage and threw deep against the Irish's man-to-man coverage, where Dwayne Jarrett caught the ball and raced to the Irish' 13-yard line, a 61-yard gain. The 2005 Trojans again had a perfect 12-0 regular season. Leinart was again invited to New York for the Heisman ceremony along with teammate Reggie Bush and Texas quarterback Vince Young. Despite throwing for 3,815 yards and 28 touchdowns, he finished third in the vote behind Bush and Vince Young. The Trojans advanced to the Rose Bowl to face Vince Young and #2 Texas in the BCS title game. The title game was considered another "dream matchup". Leinart completed 29 of 40 passes for a touchdown and 365 yards, but was overshadowed by Young, who piled up 467 yards of total offense and rushed for three touchdowns, including a score with 19 seconds remaining and two-point conversion to put the Longhorns ahead, 41-38. The Trojans lost for the first time in 35 games, and Leinart for just the second time in his 39 career starts.

College Statistics and Accolades

Leinart finished his college career with 807 completions on 1,245 attempts (64.8% completion percentage) for 10,693 yards, 99 touchdowns, and 23 interceptions. At the time of his departure, he was USC's all-time leader in career touchdown passes and completion percentage and was second at USC behind Carson Palmer in completions and yardage.

Awards and Honors:

Heisman Trophy (2004)
Orange Bowl MVP (2005)
Two-time First Team All-America
Walter Camp Award (2004)
Manning Award (2004)
AP Player of the Year (2004)
Two-time Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award

NFL Career (2006-2012)

Projected to be the first overall pick of the 2005 NFL draft, Leinart's draft stock decreased after he chose to return to USC for his senior season. Nonetheless, he remained one of the top prospects in the 2006 NFL draft.

Arizona Cardinals (2006-2009)

Leinart was selected tenth overall in the first round of the 2006 NFL draft by the Arizona Cardinals. Cardinals head coach Dennis Green held a press conference after a poor performance by Warner in Week 3 and announced Leinart would start. In a November 26 game against the Minnesota Vikings, Leinart set a then-NFL rookie record with 405 passing yards, but only produced a quarterback rating of 74.0 as the team ultimately lost. He suffered a sprained left shoulder (throwing arm) in the Week 16 win over the San Francisco 49ers. In 11 starts, Leinart threw for 2,547 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. Leinart opened the 2007 season on Monday Night Football against the San Francisco 49ers as the starting quarterback. After a sequence of drives, the offense stalled, which led new head coach Ken Whisenhunt to begin inserting Warner as a situational quarterback. On October 7, 2007, Leinart suffered a fractured left collarbone after being sacked by St. Louis Rams linebacker Will Witherspoon. Three days later, he was placed on injured reserve, ending his season. In his first two NFL seasons, Leinart had suffered two season-ending injuries, both due to being sacked. In Leinart's second season with Arizona, he started five games, completed 53.6% of his passes (60/112), and threw for 647 yards, 5.8 yards per attempt, two touchdowns, and four interceptions. His passer rating was 61.9. He averaged 129 yards and 0.4 touchdowns per start. In the 2008 offseason, after he recovered from the injury, Leinart was handed his starting job back. Still, his hold on the job was tenuous after another strong training camp performance by Warner. Finally, after Leinart threw three interceptions within a matter of minutes versus the Oakland Raiders in the third preseason game, Warner was named the opening-day starter. Leinart picked up only a limited number of snaps in mop-up duty behind Warner. Warner started 16 games and took the Cardinals to their first ever Super Bowl, cementing his status as starter and Leinart's status as a backup. For the 2008 season, he completed 15 of 29 passing attempts (51.7%), one touchdown, one interception, and an 80.2 passer rating. In 2010, Leinart was named the presumptive starter after Warner's retirement. However, due to poor play, the starting job in training camp was given to Derek Anderson.

Houston Texans (2010-2011)

On September 6, 2010, the NFL announced that Leinart signed a one-year contract to back up Matt Schaub with the Houston Texans. Since Schaub played all 16 games, Leinart did not play during the 2010 season. During the 2011 offseason, despite speculation that he would sign with the Seattle Seahawks, who were coached by Leinart's college coach Pete Carroll, and compete for a starting job, Leinart ultimately agreed to return to Houston as a backup for the 2011 season. In Week 10, Schaub injured his right foot and the Texans named Leinart their starter. Leinart started for the first time in Week 12 against the Jacksonville Jaguars; however, during the first half he fractured his collarbone and was replaced by rookie quarterback T. J. Yates.

Read also: Architect of the Packers' Offense

Oakland Raiders (2012)

Leinart signed with the Oakland Raiders in 2012 to be a backup but was released before the season began.

Buffalo Bills (2013)

After injuries to quarterbacks EJ Manuel (knee surgery) and Kevin Kolb (concussion), the Bills decided to sign Leinart on August 25, 2013. Leinart and Thad Lewis (who was brought in on the same day through a trade) would compete for the fourth-string quarterback job behind undrafted rookie Jeff Tuel. He was released a few days later.

Personal Life

In May 2018, Leinart married Make It or Break It and The Mentalist actress Josie Loren at the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Asheville, North Carolina. In January 2020, Loren gave birth to Leinart's second son.

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