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| ==College career== | ==College career== | ||
| In his ] freshman year, he backed up then-quarterback ], who also won the Heisman Trophy and is now |
In his ] freshman year, he backed up then-quarterback ], who also won the Heisman Trophy and is now a successful quarterback with the NFL's ]. In the following offseason, Leinart beat out ] and former ] transfer Brandon Hance for the Trojan starting job at QB. Since taking over as USC's starter, Leinart has accumulated a 37-1 record, was named ] Offensive Player of the Year twice, and has won the prestigious ]. Leinart presently is the all-time Pac-10 conference leader in touchdowns with 98. Leinart is expected to pass Palmer in ] as USC's all-time passing leader, and was one of only five players to go into a season with the possibilty of winning two Heisman Trophies, joining ] in ], ] in ], ] in ], and ] in ]; Griffin went on to win the other Heisman, while Sims, Detmer, White, and now Leinart, failed to do so. | ||
| Leinart returned to USC for 2005 despite the lure of millions in the NFL. He only needed to take one class to graduate and chose ballroom dancing, a class which soon after filled up to capacity. | |||
| On December 7th, 2005, Leinart was selected as a ] finalist for a second consecutive year, set to appear again at award ceremony with teammate ] and ] quarterback ]. Having won the ] in ], he was able to cast a vote for the 2005 Heisman. He voted for teammate, ] over himself. ] won the ] in a landslide. | On December 7th, 2005, Leinart was selected as a ] finalist for a second consecutive year, set to appear again at award ceremony with teammate ] and ] quarterback ]. Having won the ] in ], he was able to cast a vote for the 2005 Heisman. He voted for teammate, ] over himself. ] won the ] in a landslide. | ||
| On a personal note, Leinart majors in ] at USC. He returned to USC for the 2005 season despite the lure of millions in the NFL. He only needed to take one class to graduate and chose ], a class which filled to capacity shortly thereafter. He was born with ] ("crossed eyes"), as his left eye was not aligned with his right. He underwent surgery when he was 3 years old and was fitted with glasses, correcting the problem. | |||
| ==Player profile== | ==Player profile== | ||
Revision as of 03:26, 30 December 2005
Matt Leinart (born May 11, 1983 in Santa Ana, California) is an American football quarterback (QB) who plays for the University of Southern California Trojans. Before attending college Leinart played QB at his high school, Mater Dei High School, Santa Ana. In 2004, his junior year at USC, he won the Heisman Trophy. He also won the inaugural Manning Award for college quarterbacks in the same season.
College career
In his redshirt freshman year, he backed up then-quarterback Carson Palmer, who also won the Heisman Trophy and is now a successful quarterback with the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals. In the following offseason, Leinart beat out Matt Cassel and former Purdue transfer Brandon Hance for the Trojan starting job at QB. Since taking over as USC's starter, Leinart has accumulated a 37-1 record, was named Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year twice, and has won the prestigious Heisman Trophy. Leinart presently is the all-time Pac-10 conference leader in touchdowns with 98. Leinart is expected to pass Palmer in 2005 as USC's all-time passing leader, and was one of only five players to go into a season with the possibilty of winning two Heisman Trophies, joining Archie Griffin in 1975, Billy Sims in 1978, Ty Detmer in 1991, and Jason White in 2004; Griffin went on to win the other Heisman, while Sims, Detmer, White, and now Leinart, failed to do so.
On December 7th, 2005, Leinart was selected as a Heisman Trophy finalist for a second consecutive year, set to appear again at award ceremony with teammate Reggie Bush and University of Texas quarterback Vince Young. Having won the Heisman Trophy in 2004, he was able to cast a vote for the 2005 Heisman. He voted for teammate, Reggie Bush over himself. Reggie Bush won the Heisman Trophy in a landslide.
On a personal note, Leinart majors in sociology at USC. He returned to USC for the 2005 season despite the lure of millions in the NFL. He only needed to take one class to graduate and chose ballroom dancing, a class which filled to capacity shortly thereafter. He was born with strabismus ("crossed eyes"), as his left eye was not aligned with his right. He underwent surgery when he was 3 years old and was fitted with glasses, correcting the problem.
Player profile
Leinart is considered one of the top NFL prospect of the 2006 draft class. Standing 6'5" (1.96 m) and weighing 225 pounds (100 kg), this left-handed thrower has the prototypical size for a quarterback. And while much of his success has been predicated on the high level of talent that USC head coach Pete Carroll has surrounded Leinart with (as well as the schemes of former Trojans offensive coordinator Norm Chow) Leinart has solid arm strength and excellent accuracy, and, more importantly, he possesses rare football intelligence along with decision-making, leadership skills. Ironically, by returning for his senior season Leinart probably hurt his draft position, as he would have undoubtedly been the first pick in the 2005 draft but now figures to be drafted at some point after his teammate Reggie Bush, who is considered a virtual lock to be the first player selected in the 2006 draft.
Honors
2004
- Heisman Trophy Winner
- Rose Bowl MVP
- Walter Camp Award
- AP player of the year
- Touchdown Club Manning Award
- Touchdown Club QB of the year
- Victor Award player of the year
- Sullivan Award Finalist
- AP All-American first team
- Football Coaches All-American first team
- ESPN
- CSTV
- Rivals.com
- SportsIllustrated.com
- CollegeFootballNews.com All-American first team
- Pac-10 Co-offensive player of the year
- ESPN.com player of the year
- Rivals.com player of the year
- Pre-season All-American
2005
- Orange Bowl MVP
- Unitas Award
- Finalist for Heisman Trophy
- All-American Offensive Player
- LA Sports Sportsman of the Year
- Sporting News Sportsman of the Year
External links
- MattLeinartBlog.com - Matt Leinart's official blog
- USCTrojans.com - Matt Leinart profile and bio
- Matt Leinart - Matt Leinart Unofficial Website