University Southern California Trojans
Players Mentioned
Coming Full Circle
September 16, 2017 | Football, Features
By Katie Ryan
Assistant Sports Information Director
The date is Jan. 4, 2006. The Darnold family is sitting in front of the television at their home in San Clemente, Calif., watching the USC Trojans take on the Texas Longhorns in the Rose Bowl game that would determine the national championship.
Eight-year-old Sam Darnold studies the game while transfixed on Trojan quarterback Matt Leinart, his favorite player. Darnold, a Pop Warner quarterback himself, watches how the two-time national champion and Heisman Trophy winner plays the game.
"I remember he was always able to give his receivers a chance," said Darnold of Leinart. "When I was a kid, I remember throwing the football in the front yard with my dad, and I would throw it high in the air and try to mimic Leinart, because he would throw it super high in the air to always give his receivers the best opportunity possible for a completion."
Mimicking Leinart's play was not out of the ordinary. In fact, young Darnold often liked to pretend he was the superstar USC quarterback.
"When he was little he was so cute because he would pretend to be people," said his mother, Chris Darnold. "Even if he wasn't playing with anyone, he would go outside and pretend to be Matt Leinart or Kobe Bryant."
Said Darnold: "It was always fun to imitate Matt, because who wouldn't want to be Matt Leinart?"
This 2006 BCS title game, which would go down in history as one of the greatest college football games ever played, was just one of many USC games that Darnold watched.
"We didn't have an NFL team here when Sam was growing up so the pro football team was USC," said Mike Darnold, his father. "My grandpa raised me to be a Trojan fan. We still had my grandpa's season tickets after he passed away, so I took my son and daughter to a game every year. They grew up rooting for USC football."
Darnold grew up as an average kid. No quarterback guru tutored him. He didn't specialize in one sport. Young Sam was playing every sport in season and always wanted to have a ball in his hands.
"He was just a normal kid," said Mike. "He loved sports. He wanted to be outside and playing ball, whether it was baseball, football or basketball. Both of my kids went to bed watching SportsCenter. They woke up in the morning watching SportsCenter, and in between they were playing ball."
Said Chris: "He would rather watch football on TV with his dad than anything else. When he was little, he would rather watch football than SpongeBob."
Fast forward 11 years. The date is Jan. 2, 2017. Sam Darnold is no longer the little boy watching the Trojans on TV. In front of a national television audience, he just led the USC Trojan football team to their first Rose Bowl victory in the post-sanction era.
After leading the Trojans through a storybook season with nine straight victories, Darnold broke a pair of Rose Bowl records in USC's 52-49 win over Penn State: most touchdown passes in a game (5) and most total yards (473 yards).
"Even today, it blows my mind," said Mike. "When I watched him throw that first touchdown pass to Deontay Burnett in the Rose Bowl, I looked at my wife and said, 'Our son just threw a touchdown in the Rose Bowl!'"
Fast forward again. It's July 20, 2017, and Darnold, a communication major, is in the thick of a whirlwind summer. With dozens of media requests and many more headlines that describe him as the best quarterback in college football, Darnold is the most sought after college athlete in the summer of 2017.
Today he has two photoshoots for national outlets and an interview with none other than his childhood hero, Matt Leinart.
In this moment, everything has come full circle. The little boy who ran around in a Leinart jersey is now spending the afternoon with the quarterback he idolized. Except today, Leinart is talking about Sam's accomplishments as the Trojan play caller.
"The first time I watched Sam was at spring practice in 2016," said Leinart. "Obviously, I came away very impressed. Then I watched the first game he started at Utah a year ago. That was where people knew he had a lot of potential, and he could be really special. I think that says a lot about him. Where you can watch one game, a game he lost, and you can still come away with saying 'Wow, that kid's going to be very good.' ''
The tables have turned. While Leinart now enjoys a successful broadcasting career, he has the opportunity to dissect the play of the young man who once watched him.
"His ability to make plays and extend plays is what I think sets him apart from other quarterbacks," said the Heisman Trophy winner. "He's got a drive to him. He's got a real calmness to him that not a lot of people have, no matter what position you play. When I watched him I thought, 'Wow, this guy has got that moxie you want as quarterback.' "
These two Trojan greats from two different eras have developed a special relationship.
"Having Matt there as a role model and someone I can go to if I ever need advice or just talk is amazing," said Darnold.
"It's kind of what USC is all about," said Leinart. "There's a long line of great quarterbacks and great players who have played here. It wasn't any different for me when I was at USC and following Carson Palmer and looking up to him and wanting to emulate what he did.
"It's cool to know that I had an impact on Sam. Everything kind of comes full-circle. I really enjoy being around him and talking to him. He's got a special quality which makes him such a great player and a great person as well. If I had an impact in his life, that's awesome. And if I have an opportunity to impact his life in the future, I'll be there for him then as well."
Darnold has thrown 31 touchdowns and passed for 3,375 yards to go with three rushing touchdowns during his brief USC career. Though he's started only 11 games, he's among the most talked about college football players in the country. And his family finds it hard to believe.
"It blows me away," said Mike. "I could never have fathomed my son being texting buddies with Matt Leinart or going to dinner with the Manning family or doing a podcast with the head coach at USC. None of that stuff even would've been within the realm of my imagination."
Said Chris: "A few years ago I would think, 'I wonder if they will ever talk about Sam on SportsCenter? That would be so weird!' But here they are talking about Sam Darnold on SportsCenter! And seeing that I just start bawling because it's his dream come true. No one has worked harder than him. Yeah, he's gifted athletically, but he has worked so hard to be where he's at. He was always the kid that was throwing 35 more passes even after it got dark. It's surreal to see where he is today."
Sam's family says even though he is now a household name, he has still remained the same person he was as boy.
"I want him to always remember who he is, because that's what's important to me," said Chris. "And he's been doing a great job of that."
Said Mike: "He tells me that Coach Helton's advice to him is 'Just be yourself', and Sam's remained himself throughout all of this. That's the thing I'm the most proud of, that he remained himself throughout this sudden rise."
Sam did it. That little boy in the No. 11 jersey now looks around the Coliseum and sees countless fans, adults and children alike, wearing his No. 14 jersey.
However, his story is not over. Not by a long shot.
Now Darnold can pick up where his idol Matt Leinart left off. Today, Sept. 16, 2017, Darnold and the Trojans will play Texas, the first time since their historic encounter in 2006.
"Ever since I was a little kid watching USC games, that specific Rose Bowl game is super memorable for me," said Darnold. "This matchup is almost like a clash of the titans. Two big time programs competing against each other. With the story of the 2006 Rose Bowl and how much tradition is in both programs, it's going to be really fun to be able to experience the USC-Texas game as a player."
This game isn't about redemption. This game isn't about reliving the past. This game is just the next one on the list for Sam Darnold, the child who worked so hard to make his dreams of being the USC quarterback come true. His journey continues.
"I'm not sure if I'll ever really get used to him being mentioned as a 'great'" said Mike. "To me, Sam is still that little kid wearing the Matt Leinart jersey. He will always be that kid."
