Matt Leinart was born
on May 11, 1983 in Santa Ana, CA. He was born with strabismus (cross-eyes), as his left eye was not aligned
with his right. Matt underwent surgery when he was 3 years old and was fitted with glasses that would correct
the problem. As he was growing up, Matt was teased about beign chubby and wearing glasses. Matt then turned
to sports as his outlet. He played as a baseball pitcher during his freshman year in high school, but with a
tragic injury which required surgery to correct it, ended is baseball hopes as he had to sit out the rest of
the season. His older brother Ryan, payed for football camp, in which Matt enrolled. During his last two years
at Mater Dei High School, Matt became one of the most decorated high school quarterbacks. Matt decided to attend
the University of Southern California, he said it would allow for his family to go see him play.
Matt redshirted during his freshman year, in 2002 Matt hardly saw any action in the playing field. With Carson Palmer's graduation
the top spot in the squad became available. He beat out Matt Cassel (now with the New England Patriots) and Brandon
Hance for the quarterback job. Matt led the Trojans to the Rose Bowl game that season, they beat the Michigan Wolverines
14-28, winning a share of the National Championship title. Once again Matt showed to be an exceptional quarterback and
led Trojans to an undefeated season.
In 2004, Matt won the most reviered trophy any college football player would like
to win, he was amongst the top 5 finalists for the coveted Heisman Trophy, and won the majority of first place points,
making him the winner of the trophy. He beat out Jason White of Oklahoma and teammate Reggie Bush. With the Trojans
having an undefeated season, they were invited to the Orange Bowl to play against Oklahoma for the national championship
title. In that game the Trojans beat the Oklahoma Sooners 55-19, Matt was the Orange Bowl MVP. After the championship
game, Matt was faced with a hard decision, return to USC for his senior season or to leave early and enter the NFL Draft.
In a press conference set up by the University, Matt announced that he would be coming back for his fifth and final season
with the Trojans. Many criticized his decision, if he were to have left early, he would have been most likely been the #1
draft pick, which instead was Alex Smith.
Despite the bad criticisms, Matt said it that he wasn't feeling prepared for
the NFL world, and that he was enjoying the environment surrounding USC. During the off-season, he had surgery on his
left elbow, to correct a problem that had been bothering him for all of last season. Matt came back for his fifth and final
season with the Trojans, in hopes of doing something that has never been done before by any college, win a third straight
national championship, and possibly become only the second person to win two Heisman Trophies. The road to a third straight
championship was not easy. Matt struggled in the games against Orgeon, ASU, and Notre Dame. Despite having had bad games
Matt once again, led the Trojans to an undefeated season, and earned the invitation to play at the Rose Bowl for the National
Championship title game. Matt once again was amongst the Heisman Trophy finalists, but this time, the top honor went to his
teammate Reggie Bush. The Trojans did not win the Rose Bowl game, and with that ended their 34-game winning streak. That
would be Matt's last game as a USC Trojan, and would now prepare himself for the NFL Draft. At USC, Matt had an impressive
career, having a 37-2 record as a starter. Matt has now moved on, and is an NFL rookie with the Arizona Cardinals (he was drafted
as the #10 pick, which is surprising, many thought he would go as low as #3), and although he would no longer be seen wearing the
cardinal and gold, he would be remembered as one of the greatest Trojans.
