'''Matthew Stephen Leinart''' (born May 11, 1983 in Santa Ana, California) is an American football quarterback (QB) for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. He played college football for the University of Southern California Trojans, leading them to a split National Championship in 2004, and a consensus title in 2005. Leinart earlier played QB at Mater Dei High School, Santa Ana. In 2004, his junior year at USC, he won the Heisman Trophy. He also won the inaugural Manning Award for college quarterbacks in the same season. Anticipating his entry into the NFL, he signed with Creative Artists Agency to handle endorsements, and Leigh Steinberg to be his agent in January 2006 (although Leinart fired Steinberg three months later). On Tuesday, August 29, 2006, various print and radio sources reported that Matt Leinart and USC women's basketball player Brynn Cameron are expecting a baby boy in November.
Youth
Leinart was born with strabismus ("crossed eyes"), as his left eye was not aligned correctly with his right. He underwent surgery when he was three years old and was fitted with special glasses to correct the problem, but the eyewear combined with Leinart's already-overweight frame to make him an easy target for ridicule at the hands of other children. http://starbulletin.com/2005/08/31/sports/story2.html "I used to get made fun of for being cross-eyed. It's just a terrible thing because kids are so cruel to the fat kid, to the kid with the glasses. So I turned to sports," he would later say. http://usctrojans.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/leinart_matt00.html Leinart would finally come into his own at Mater Dei High School, where he graduated as one of the most decorated high school quarterbacks in Southern California prep history. Following his standout senior season in 2000, he accepted a scholarship to USC.
College career
2001/2002
Leinart redshirted his first year and saw no action. As a redshirt freshman the next year, he was a backup to current Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer, who was in his senior season at USC (one which would conclude with Palmer's Heisman victory). He appeared in a few plays his freshman year but threw no passes.
2003
In his sophomore season, Leinart beat out Matt Cassel and Purdue transfer Brandon Hance for the Trojan starting job at quarterback. His first career pass was a touchdown against Auburn. Leinart would win the first three games of his career before the then-No. 3 Trojans suffered a 34-31 triple-overtime defeat at California on September 27 that dropped the Trojans to No. 10.
Leinart and the Trojans bounced back the next week in one of Leinart's most famous college moments against Arizona State. Leinart injured his knee in
