What does it take to truly “make it” as a successful quarterback? A rocket for an arm? An innate ability to read a defense? Leadership qualities in a locker room? Many would suggest former NFL QB Matt Leinart checked these boxes. He was a national champion at USC, he won college football’s most prestigious award – the Heisman Trophy, he was a 1st round draft pick, and he spent 7 years playing at the professional level. But in Leinart’s own assessment, he didn’t quite “make it” in the way that he believes he could have, and it comes down to a quality that is a little more difficult to quantify.
“I just don’t think I was in love with [football] when I was playing,” said Leinart on the most recent episode of the Throwbacks podcast which he co-hosts alongside former Entourage star, Jerry Ferrara.
“I didn’t eat, sleep, breathe football. I was just really good at it, I had great teams around me and I made it, and I was talented, but like, that was it. So, I look at all these guys, like, man, that’s all they knew growing up. That’s all they did.”
Leinart was quick to point out that he loves the sport and loved playing it but a passion for baseball during his youth along with a late start when it came to playing organized tackle football may have impacted just how much he loved the game.
“I didn’t play it growing up. So, like, I grew to love it because I’m a competitor and I’m an athlete, and it was my path. But like, I didn’t play in fourth grade, third grade, tackle; I was baseball. I wanted to be a pitcher in the major leagues. That was my dream. That got shattered so I just, I just fell into football.”
Despite not playing tackle football until his freshman year of high school, Leinart quickly rose in the ranks, becoming one of the top high school quarterbacks in America and receiving scholarship offers from some of the nation’s biggest collegiate programs. Ultimately, he chose USC where he experienced incredible levels of success propelling him to a top 10 selection by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2006 NFL Draft. Once in the league, however, the success that he experienced in college became harder to sustain. There are a number of reasons for this, but Leinart still cites his passion for the sport as a possible root cause behind some of his struggles.
“I just don’t think I loved it the way I needed to in order to… I mean, injuries happen, all these things but like, in order to really have the success that I thought I could have.”
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