Latest news with #Leinart
USA Today
15 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
There is always a new way to think about the greatness of Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush
Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush, together at USC, both had their fair share of awards and national championships. In a recent tweet listing the best college football players to wear numbers 1-25, both Reggie Bush and Leinart made the list. One of the most exciting college football players of all time, Reggie Bush was named the best player to wear number 5. Reggie Bush won multiple awards in his stellar 2005 season, winning the Heisman Trophy, the Doak Walker Award, and the Walter Camp Award, along with being named AP College Football Player of the Year and Sporting News Player of the Year. Reggie Bush was also the driving force for the 2004 BCS national championship run for the Trojans. He ended his collegiate career as a two-time AP national champion with standout performances in countless big games. In his USC tenure, Bush set a freshman record with 1,331 all-purpose yards in 2003. When he hung up his Trojan jersey Bush had 433 rushes for 3,169 yards and 25 touchdowns plus 95 receptions for 1,301 added yards and 13 touchdowns on his resume. His impact did not just stop on the offensive side of the ball; he was also a dynamic return man chipping in 67 kickoffs for 1,523 yards and one touchdown, and fielding 44 punts for 559 yards and three touchdowns. Reggie Bush had a huge impact too on college football players getting paid and the NIL world we live in today. His Heisman Trophy was taken from him due to breaking NCAA violations. Bush rightly got his trophy back and in 2023 was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Bush's teammate Matt Leinart was named the best college player to wear number 11. Matt Leinart was the 2004 Heisman Trophy winner, giving the USC Trojans back-to-back Heisman winners. Leinart also was named 2004 Rose Bowl MVP, helping the Trojans win consecutive AP national championships. This three-time All-American set 16 school records, including 11 Pac-10 and 2 NCAA records. Breaking multiple records and going 37-2 in his career at USC helped him create a fantastic college resume. He was inducted into the USC Hall Of Fame in 2007. His jersey was retired, and he was inducted into the College Football Hall Of Fame in 2017. Leinart, in 39 games, had 10,693 yards passing, 99 touchdowns, and 23 interceptions at USC. Leinart and Reggie Bush will go down as one of the best quarterback and running back duos in college football history. It only makes sense that these two legendary Trojans get recognized as the best to wear their jersey numbers.
USA Today
16 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Former Trojan Matt Leinart is hopeful about USC football this year
Legendary USC quarterback Matt Leinart spoke at Big Ten media days last week. He offered his thoughts on the Trojans' chances this season in the Big Ten. With USC under a lot of scrutiny, who better to come to the Trojans' defense and give fans a little bit of optimism for this season other than Matt Leinart? In a recent article, Charlie Viehl with USC Trojans on Sports Illustrated highlighted Leinart's exact feelings of optimism this season, noting what the Trojans need to do to be a top team in the Big Ten "(Ashley) Adamson asked Leinart about his thoughts on USC's upcoming season, and Leinart revealed his expectations for USC coach Lincoln Riley in 2025. "You look at USC, UCLA. I mean, both teams need to get better. USC in particular. I'm actually very interested in this year. They made huge strides on defense a year ago. I think that we saw that. They were so close last year in a lot of games, and you can't have excuses. But those plays go the different way, maybe they're 10-3 and in a playoff or 10-2 an in the playoffs, so they need to learn how to finish." As for how to fix USC's problem of finishing close games? The former Trojans quarterback talked about how Riley and the current coaching staff is emphasizing it over the offseason. "I always say this and Pete Carroll at USC, our whole program was built on finishing. Whether it was schoolwork, whether it was in the gym, whether it was meetings just be the best and finish until the very end. You start to develop that mindset," Leinart said. "I know that's kind of been a big thing for them this offseason. Hopefully that translates into the games. I think they're preseason ninth (in the) poll, which means nothing, but people are gonna overlook them this year. I think they're going to be pretty good," the former Trojan continued. How far will "pretty good" get in this year's Big Ten? To Leinart's point, the Trojans did take a massive step forward with the addition of Rob Ryan. This defense should be even better this season. This new and improved defense should help them finish games. With more stability at quarterback and with elite weapons, the Trojans are aiming to right all of last season's wrongs. The Trojans should not be overlooked this season with everything they have, but maybe for Lincoln Riley and the rest of the team, that is exactly how they should want it.
Fox News
4 days ago
- Sport
- Fox News
Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart sounds alarm on blood shortages, why campaign hits close to home
Matt Leinart achieved numerous accomplishments in his football career. He was a two-time national champion and Heisman Trophy winner at USC and was a first-round draft pick when he tried his luck in the NFL. While he pushes on into the next phase of his career as a college football analyst on FOX Sports' "Big Noon Kickoff," he recently partnered with Abbott in hopes of tackling the need to address blood shortages in the U.S. The "We Give Blood Drive" campaign is something that hit a little closer to home for Leinart. "Gosh, my mom passed away from cancer years ago, but she needed blood transfusions," he explained to Fox News Digital in a recent interview. "We have friends that have kids who are dealing with pretty severe illnesses that needed transfusions to live, and they're gonna be OK, which is great. "One in 83 new moms need blood after childbirth. My wife just gave birth to our third child. Fortunately, she didn't need it but when you start to sort of hear the stats around this, and then you're like, 'Oh wow, that could've been us.' It just means more. It impacts you in that way. Those are just a few examples of why it could kind of hit home." Leinart expressed the importance of giving blood as some blood centers only have less than a day's supply of blood available. "One donation could save up to three lives, which I just want to hammer that point home," he said. "That's how important this could be and the impact it could have." Abbott's campaign will also pit Big Ten Conference schools against each other to see which one can donate the most blood over the course of the season. The winning school will receive $1 million to advance student and community health initiatives. The competition will begin on "We Give Blood Day" on Aug. 27, and it will run through the Big Ten Championship Game on Dec. 6.
USA Today
22-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Matt Leinart reveals he was nearly traded to New York Giants in 2010
In 2010, three years after they triumphed over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, the New York Giants were forced into the quarterback market. They had lost veteran David Carr to the San Francisco 49ers and needed someone to back up Eli Manning. At the time, the Giants settled on Sage Rosenfels but weren't entirely satisfied with that room. During a recent episode of Throwbacks with Matt Leinart and Jerry Ferrara, Leinart revealed that he was nearly traded from the Arizona Cardinals to the Giants to fill that role. "They were trying to trade me to the New York Football Giants... to back up Eli," Leinart said. "I ended up getting cut, and I signed with the Texans like three days later. That's when I went to Houston. "But there were conversations -- and I'm almost positive about this -- that (head coach Ken Whisenhunt) was like, 'Hey, we've been talking to the Giants about potentially trading you.' ... But yeah, it was the Giants. My agent was like, they liked me." Leinart said he preferred to be released as opposed to being traded, giving him the freedom to choose his next destination. That's exactly what happened, and he ended up with the Texans. "So, that almost happened. I was almost traded to the Giants," he said. Leinart, a first-round pick of the Cardinals in the 2006 NFL draft, spent two seasons with the Texans before a year with the Oakland Raiders. He eventually wrapped things up with the Buffalo Bills in 2013. In 33 career games (18 starts), Leinart completed 57.1 percent of his passes for 4,065 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 21 interceptions. The Giants, meanwhile, settled on Rosenfels and Jim Sorgi as their backups in 2010 before re-signing Carr to back up Manning in 2011. They went on to win the Super Bowl that year, again defeating the Patriots.
NBC Sports
21-06-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Matt Leinart was "so embarrassed" as his career ended after five days with the Bills
Matt Leinart was a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback at USC and a Top 10 NFL draft pick, but his pro career didn't amount to much. And he says the way his career ended was particularly tough for him. Leinart played for the Cardinals from 2006 to 2009, the Texans in 2010 and 2011, and the Raiders in 2012. Then the Bills signed him in the 2013 preseason, put him on the field for one bad game, and cut him after five days. He said recently on his Throwbacks podcast that final preseason game in Buffalo was particularly difficult to live with. 'My last game in Buffalo, preseason Game 4, I threw three interceptions in the first half,' Leinart said. 'I stood on that sideline like someone passed away in my family. I kept my helmet on so no one could see my face. I was embarrassed. I didn't cry, I was so embarrassed that that was going to be my last time ever on a football field. I just knew it.' Leinart said that in only five days in Buffalo, he came to admire the passionate Bills fan base and felt badly that he couldn't give them anything to cheer for. 'The sad part is they were so fired up that I was there, they were like, 'Yeah! Revive your career here!' I was like, 'Guys, they need an arm,'' Leinart said. 'I saw firsthand Buffalo, Bills Mafia, how awesome their fans were. They treated me great for the first couple days. That's why I was like, 'I love Buffalo.''
