Positives:
During his career at USC, Matt Leinart has shown good accuracy on
all routes, to go along with good down-field vision. He throws one of
the best deep balls in college football, putting the ball where only his
guy can get it. Leinart has good pocket presence and is mobile enough to
avoid the pressure, but he usually won't break a big run. He has shown
he can play against top tier defenses in pressure situations. He shows
great composure and leadership on the field.
Negatives:
Some question as to whether he is as good as he has looked or if
it was a product of the system and supporting cast...Not very mobile...Only average
athletic ability...Needs to continue to work on and refine his mechanics.
Leinart's foot work isn't as good as it could be, but it obviously
hasn't hurt him. However, if he works this out he will be an even better
QB. The other area of concern for Leinart is his arm strength. While he
has the arm to throw the ball deep, he doesn't, as of right now, have
the arm to efficiently throw the deep out in the NFL.
Overview:
Potential franchise signal caller in the NFL. While there aren't many
knocks on Leinart there are a few that could hurt him in the NFL. He
will most likely be the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, depending on
who holds the pick. He's comparable to Tom Brady coming out of college,
only more well known. The two biggest questions for him when he enters
the league will be: Can he consistently play well against good defenses,
and can he be just as effective without all the talent that he had
surrounding him at USC?
Notes
CAREER: He is fourth on USC's
career completions (524), passing yardage (6,878) and total offense (6,772)
charts. He already has thrown 71 touchdowns (second most in USC history behind
Carson Palmer's 72) in just 26 career starts, with at least 1 TD in all but 1
game he has started (the first 24) and at least 2 TDs in all but 3 games (he had
a string of at least 2 TDs in 15 consecutive games). He also has thrown at least
3 TDs 13 times (and at least 4 TDs 7 times, including 5 TDs on 3 occasions). He
is averaging a TD pass every 11.5 career attempts. His career passing efficiency
rating of 160.5 is fifth on the all-time NCAA chart. During USC's current
22-game winning streak, he has thrown 63 TDs and just 9 interceptions (his
career TD/interception ratio is 71/15). His 71 career TD passes-already sixth on
the Pac-10 career ladder-are the most ever in back-to-back seasons by a Pac-10
quarterback. His 64.3% career passing percentage is just below USC's career
record of 64.6% set by Rob Johnson (1991-94). His 1.84% career interception rate
is lower than the USC and Pac-10 career record of 1.95% set by Brad Otton
(1994-96). USC is 25-1 when Leinart starts (his 96.2% winning percentage is the
highest of any USC quarterback ever and is the second-best mark in NCAA history,
minimum 25 starts, behind Toledo's Chuck Ealey, who was 35-0). He was just the
third quarterback in the last 30 years to lead his team to back-to-back national
championships. In his 2 starts against Notre Dame (2003 and 2004), he has
completed 73.5% of his passes (50-of-68) for 751 yards and 9 TDs.
His decision to return to USC for his senior
season instead of going to the NFL:
"The things I value at this school are more important to
me than money. I realize the money I could have made if
I had gone to the NFL, but I wanted to stay in school. I
wanted to be with all my friends and teammates, living
the college life and going through the graduation
process. All those things make up my college experience
and I didn't want to give that up...Being in college is
the best time of my life...There is something special
going on at USC that I didn't want to give up...I'm
having fun here. It's all a part of growing up, all part
of being a kid, and I wasn't ready to pass that up...A
lot of people said they didn't envy me being in that
situation. In a way, it was a great position to be in,
but on the other hand it was one of the biggest
decisions of my life...There's still a lot of motivation
for me to play college football...I realize that some
say there's not really much more I can accomplish. But I
can get a lot strong physically and mentally. Another
year of experience can only help. It's not about the
awards. It's not about trying to win another Heisman.
It's really about trying to win a third national
championship and getting better as a player...The next
level is a business. I'm playing for passion and for the
love of this game. There's nothing like this right
here...Sometimes I just kind of look around and think
it's cool being in the position I'm in. Yeah, life right
now is pretty good."
Position:
Quarterback
