USC football: 5 great Trojans who didn’t live up to the NFL hype

Matt Leinart fell victim to the Heisman curse.

After redshirting the 2001 season and serving as the backup quarterback in the 2002 campaign, Matt Leinart took over the starting quarterback job for USC as a redshirt sophomore. Over his three years as a starter for the Trojans, Leinart did nothing but win and set records — even if many of his accomplishments were vacated due to the highly publicized NCAA sanctions placed on the program.

Regardless, you can’t argue with how good Leinart was in college. In his career as a starter, the Trojans suffered only two losses, one of which came in the 2006 Rose Bowl against Texas as they were upset for the BCS National Championship in one of the greatest college football games of all time.

Throughout his career, Leinart was extremely prolific. The quarterback won the Heisman Trophy in the 2004 season but also finished sixth in the 2003 season and third in the 2005 season. Furthermore, he is third all-time in career passing yards in USC football history and second in career passing touchdowns. That seemed to pave the way for him to be a great pro quarterback.

The Arizona Cardinals selected Leinart with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft but, for the Cardinals and other three teams he spent time with, either on the roster or not, he never found the magic he had while at USC. Leinart played in only 33 games over six seasons, starting 18 with a record of 8-10 in those appearances. Furthermore, he threw for just 4,065 yards, 15 touchdowns and 21 interceptions in his career.

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