Has Been Of The Month: Matt Leinart

Matt Leinart is an incredibly talented quarterback who has accomplished so much . . . in college. He won the Heisman trophy, a national championship, and left USC as one of the most decorated passers and most popular ever. This kid was a celebrity by the time he before he could even taste a drop of alcohol (legally). Leinart left USC for the NFL and was selected 10^th overall by the Arizona Cardinals to be their franchise quarterback for many years to come. He started right out of the gates and had moderate success for a rookie throwing for 2,547 yards with 11 TDs and 12 INTs. He was expected to take a big step forward his second season, but instead was injured after 5 terrible games. Instead Kurt Warner took over and showed the Arizona Cardinals how a true QB plays. The Cardinals actually named Leinart the starter during training camp, but after a terrible pre-season he was benched in favor of Warner again. The Cardinals faith in Warner paid off when he took them all the way to the Super Bowl only to lose by a ridiculous catch by Santonio Holmes. Once Warner retired before the 2010 season, Leinart once again was inserted as the starter. This time he lost his job to Derek Anderson (aka Anderception) and was eventually cut. As of now he is the Houston Texans’ 3^rd string QB.

 

People will cite Leinart’s injuries or being thrown into the fire as the reasons for him not reaching his potential, but in all honesty Leinart decided to live the single party lifestyle before ever being successful at the professional level. He seemed to never care of put in the work to be great, and in the end it cost him dearly. When you hear concerns from scouts and coaches about Cam Newton because he’s already living the celebrity lifestyle, look no further than what happened to Matt Leinart.