Matt Leinart

At 41 years old, Matt Leinart has this physical status:

Matthew Stephen Leinart (born May 11, 1983) is a retired American football quarterback who now works as a studio analyst for Fox Sports' college football coverage.

From 2001 to 2005, he played college football at the University of Southern California (USC).

In 2003, 2004, and 2005, he was the Trojans' starting quarterback.

He won the Heisman Trophy as a youth in 2004.

Leinart played for the Arizona Cardinals (2006-2009), Houston Texans (2010–2011), and the Buffalo Bills (2013).

Leinart signed a deal with the Pac-12 Network, marking his debut as a Studio Analyst on August 30, 2014.

Pardon My Take is a regular guest on the Barstool Sports podcast Pardon My Take.

On December 5, 2017, Leinart was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Early years

Leinart was born in Santa Ana, California, with strabismus (commonly identified as "crossed eyes"); his left eye was not aligned properly with his right eye; his right eye was not aligned properly with his left eye. He underwent surgery when he was three years old and was fitted with special glasses to correct the condition, but Leinart's already-overweight body made him a convenient target for other children's ridicule. "I used to be mocked for being cross-eyed." It's just a bad thing because kids are so cruel to the fat kid, to the kid with glasses. "I turned to sports," he'd later admit.

Leinart played football and basketball at Mater Dei High School, becoming a letterman in football and basketball. He led his team to a California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division I co-championship and was named the Serra League's Most Valuable Player of the Year as a youth. He was named the year's best high school football player in Gatorade, California. He was wearing number 7.

Leinart, one of the best college football recruits in the United States, has joined USC under new coach Paul Hackett, citing offensive coordinator Hue Jackson as a major reason. However, Leinart considered other fields such as Georgia Tech and Arizona State, as well as Oklahoma and the University of Michigan], before USC eventually recruited Pete Carroll.

Personal life

Brynn Cameron, who is a former USC women's basketball player, has a son. The couple broke ways before their son's birth.

Josie Loren, a film actress, is married to Make It or Break It actress Leinart, as of May 2018. Loren gave birth to Leinart's second son in January 2020. Loren's third son was born in May 2021.

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College career

Leinart played for the University of Southern California, where he served for coach Pete Carroll's USC Trojans football team from 2001 to 2005. In 2001, he redshirted. Carson Palmer, who went on to win the Heisman Trophy and was drafted first overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2003 NFL Draft, was a freshman the next year. Leinart appeared in only a few plays in 2002, but did not have a ticket. Leinart played with redshirt junior Matt Cassel, Palmer's backup, and Purdue transfer Brandon Hance for the vacant starting quarterback position as a sophomore in 2003. Carroll and his coaching staff selected Leinart not because he had set himself apart in practice, but because they had to select one of the three starting quarterbacks from a list.

"You're never going to regret this" when Leinart told Leinart that he would be the starter. According to some, Leinart would only hold the position until the highly awaited true freshman John David Booty, who had skipped his senior year in high school to attend USC, could figure out the offense.

In a 23–0 victory in the season opener, Leinart's first pass in his career was a touchdown over Auburn. He would win the first three games of his career before the Trojans fell to #10 in September after losing by 34–31 triple-overtime at California on September 27. Leinart and the Trojans bounced back against Arizona State next week. Leinart suffered his knee in the second quarter and was not expected to return to action that day, but he returned to play and finished 12-of-23 for 289 yards in a 37–17 victory.

The Trojans and Leinart won their final eight games and finished the regular season 11–1 and ranked No. 1 in the country. According to the AP and coaches' polls, 1 in the AP and coaches' polls ranks 1st place. However, USC was left out of the BCS championship game after finishing third in the BCS behind Oklahoma and LSU. The Trojans attended the Rose Bowl and played at the University of Michigan. Leinart was named the Rose Bowl MVP after going 23-of-34 for 327 yards, throwing three touchdowns, and receiving a touchdown of his own from wide receiver Mike Williams. Leinart was 255 for 402 for 3,556 yards and 38 touchdowns with nine interceptions in 13 starts. In Heisman voting, he came in sixth place.

Leinart was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2019 for his Rose Bowl appearances.

With victories in their first three games, Leinart's junior season (2004) began. The Trojans defeated Stanford on September 25, the Trojans at Stanford. Leinart sparked the offense after Stanford took the lead by 28–17 minutes on a one-yard sneak, reducing the Cardinal lead to four points. The Trojans and Leinart were able to take the lead on a LenDale White rushing touchdown and the Trojans bowed the victory 31-28. Leinart completed 24 of 30 passes.

Leinart played in the last regular season game against UCLA but was suspended without a touchdown pass for the first time in 25 starts. Nonetheless, Leinart, along with colleague Reggie Bush, Oklahoma's freshman running back sensation Jason White, and Utah's quarterback Alex Smith were invited to New York for the Heisman salutation. Leinart became the sixth American player to win the Heisman Trophy in what many considered one of the most competitive Heisman events.

In 2004, the United StatesC went wire-to-wire at No. 1 in the United States. In the polls, No. 1 ranked 1 and earned a spot in the BCS championship game against Oklahoma, which was also 12–0. The Orange Bowl was a dream match on paper (including White vs. Leinart, the first time two Heisman champions would meet together), but the Trojans lost 55-19 after 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 the Orange Bowl MVP award, while the Trojans earned their first BCS National Championship and their second straight No. 1 finish in the AP, extending their winning streak to 22 games. This win and the BCS championship were later canceled as a result of the Reggie Bush affair (but the AP national championship remains intact).

The 2005 Trojans had a perfect 12–0 regular season. Leinart threw for a career-high 400 yards against Notre Dame. Following an incomplete pass and a sack resulted in a fourth-and-nine situation with 1:36 left—at the Trojans' own 26-yard line, Leinart called an audible "slant and go" route, where Dwayne Jarrett intercepted the ball and raced to the Irish 13-yard line, a 61-yard gain. With time running and scoring on a quarterback sneak that gave the Trojans a 34–31 lead with three seconds to go, Leinart won the Trojans their 28th straight victory and one of the most memorable and dramatic finishes in the Notre Dame–USC rivalry's history. Leinart, along with teammate Reggie Bush and Texas quarterback Vince Young, were all invited to New York for the Heisman parade. Leinart, a former Heisman winner, cast his first-place vote for Bush and ended up third in the poll, behind Bush (since vacated) and runner-up Young.

In the BCS championship game against Vince Young and #2 Texas, the Trojans advanced to the Rose Bowl to face Vince Young and #2 Texas. The championship matchup was described as another "dream matchup." Leinart himself had a good game, going 29-of-40 for a touchdown and 365 yards, but Young, who piled up 467 yards of total offense and rushed for three touchdowns, including a score with 19 seconds remaining and a two-point conversion, put the Longhorns ahead, 41–38. For the first time in 35 games, the Trojans lost, and Leinart for the second time in his 39 years. Leinart's #11 jersey was retired at USC after graduation.

Leinart's college career saw 807 completions on 1,245 attempts (64.8% completion rate) for 10,693 yards and 99 touchdowns with only 23 interceptions. He is the second most prolific passers and completions at USC, behind Carson Palmer in completions and yardage. He went for nearly 8.6 yards per attempt on his first attempt and had only one interception in every 54 attempts. As a starter, he was 37–2.

Professional career

Leinart's draft stock dropped after he returned to the United StatesC for his senior season, with his expected to be the first overall pick of the 2005 NFL Draft. Nevertheless, he was still one of the top players in the 2006 NFL Draft. Scouts regarded Leinart as the archetypal NFL quarterback in size at 6 ft (5.96 m) and 225 pounds (102 kg), but his arm strength raised questions. The Arizona Cardinals selected him 10th overall in the draft. After Vince Young, who had upset Leinart's team in the Rose Bowl, Leinart became the draft's second-highest selected quarterback.

Leinart spent four seasons with the Cardinals, mainly as a back-up for veteran Kurt Warner.

Leinart signed a six-year, $51 million deal in his first season, after a tumultuous dialogue converting him from the draft's last member to sign a contract. On August 19, Leinart appeared in the second quarter of the exhibition game against the New England Patriots.

After a poor showing by Warner in Week 3 and the announcement that Leinart would begin, Cardinal head coach Dennis Green called a press conference. He made his debut in the season's fourth game by tossing two touchdown passes.

Leinart threw two touchdown passes in the first half of Week 6 against the 5–0 Chicago Bears, but the Bears came back in the second half to win 24–23.

He set an NFL rookie record of 405 passing yards against the Minnesota Vikings on November 26, but the team lost to the Minnesota Vikings. His quarterback rating was 74.0. In Week 16, the San Francisco 49ers defeated him with a sprained left shoulder (throwing arm). Leinart threw for 2,547 yards and 11 touchdowns in 11 starts. He had a 4-7 record on the season.

Leinart played for the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football as the starting quarterback of the 2007 season. After a string of drives, head coach Ken Whisenhunt started to insert Warner as a situational quarterback. After being fired by St. Louis Rams linebacker Will Witherspoon, Leinart sustained a fractured left collarbone on October 7, 2007. He was put on injured reserve three days later, bringing an end to his season. Leinart had two season-ending injuries in his first two NFL seasons, all because of being fired. The Cardinals rode a late-season rally and won five of their final eight games with Warner at the helm for the remainder of the season.

In Leinart's second season with Arizona, he played 56% of his passes (60/112), threw for 647 yards, 5.8 yards per attempt, two touchdowns, and four interceptions. His passer rating was 61.9. He had 129 yards and 0.4 touchdowns per game to start. Leinart was given his starting job back in the 2008 offseason after recovering from the injury. However, after another good training camp result by Warner, his job was tenuous. And, finally, after Leinart threw three interceptions against the Oakland Raiders in a matter of minutes in their third preseason game, Warner was named the opening day starter. Leinart saw only a few snaps in mop-up service behind Warner. Warner played 16 games for the Cardinals' first-ever Super Bowl, firmly establishing his place as a starter and Leinart's status as a backup. He made 15 of 29 passing attempts (51.7%), one touchdown, one intercept, and an 80.2 passer rating. Leinart continued his role as Warner's back-up in 2009, in 2009, when the team only played in one regular season game.

After Warner's retirement, Leinart was named the presumed starter in 2010. However, Derek Anderson was given the first job in training camp due to ineffective play. Leinart was released by the Cardinals on September 4, two days after the last preseason game was decided against Anderson and rookies Max Hall and John Skelton.

Leinart and the Houston Texans announced on September 6, 2010, on September 6, 2010. Leinart did not participate in any of the 2010 games because Schaub played in all 16 games. Despite rumors that Leinart's college coach Pete Carroll would join the Seattle Seahawks and compete for a starting position, Leinart's college coach Pete Carroll decided to return to Houston as a backup for the 2011 season. Schaub suffered his right foot in Week 10 and the Texans named Leinart their starter. Leinart's debut in Week 12 against the Jacksonville Jaguars was his first appearance in the first half; however, rookie quarterback T. J. Yates replaced him during the first half. Leinart had three season-ending injuries (2006, 2007, 2011), within his first eight starts at this point in his career.

The Texans released Leinart on March 12, 2012.

Leinart signed with the Oakland Raiders on May 1, 2012 as the backup to his former college teammate and fellow Heisman winner Carson Palmer. After Palmer suffered a back injury in Week 16, Leinart and Terrelle Pryor split first-team reps, and Pryor was not re-signed by the Raiders until the following offseason.

Following EJ Manuel (knee surgery) and Kevin Kolb (concussion), the Bills decided to sign Leinart on August 25, 2013. Leinart and Thad Lewis (who were brought in on the same day as part of a trade) will compete for the fourth-string quarterback position behind undrafted rookie Jeff Tuel. Lewis won the competition, and Leinart was released by the team on August 30, 2013.

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