LOOK: Pack of former USC quarterbacks spending day together
The USC Trojans have had a pretty special tradition at the quarterback position over the past twenty years. On Saturday, USC legend Matt Leinart took a picture with a few former Trojans quarterbacks: Sam Darnold, Mark Sanchez, and Carson Palmer.
Check out the picture he posted to his Twitter page.
It’s hard to know what the RX3 shirts are for all the quarterbacks, but it looks like they were possibly working at a football camp. They all have the numbers that they wore when they suited up for the Trojans.
USC Trojans quarterbacks in the picture and their college careers
In 2016, Sam Darnold stepped in for Max Browne and the Trojans’ offense never looked back. He guided the team to the Rose Bowl, the Trojans’ first appearance in the game in eight years. Darnold set the school record for most passing touchdowns by a freshman, with 26, more than the previous record set by Todd Marinovich in 1989. Darnold shined in the Rose Bowl against Penn State. In leading his team to a 52-49 Rose Bowl victory, he completed 33-of-53 pass attempts for 453 yards, while also setting Rose Bowl records for passing touchdowns (5) and total yards (453). For the two years he spent at USC, (2016 & 2017), Darnold completed 64.9 percent of his pass attempts for 7,229 yards, while tossing in 57 touchdowns and 22 interceptions.
In 2008, Mark Sanchez was able to beat out a couple of highly rated prospects for the starting job, Aaron Corp and Mitch Mustain, a former transfer from Arkansas. He guided USC to a 12-1 record and a number two finish in the Coaches Poll. He finished the season with 3,207 passing yards, and 34 touchdown passes–the second most in Trojan history behind Matt Leinart. USC defeated Penn State in the Rose Bowl 38-24 and Sanchez was named MVP of the game. He threw for 413 passing yards against the Nittany Lions–the second in the history of the Rose Bowl and fourth in Trojan history.
Matt Leinart won the Heisman Trophy while at USC in 2004 and established himself as one of the greatest college football quarterbacks of all-time once he hung up his cleats. He became the Trojans’ sixth Heisman winner and their second in three years. Not only did he win college football’s highest individual honor, he also guided the Trojans to an undefeated season in 2004. USC became only the second team to go wire-to-wire in the polls as the No. 1 ranked team in America. During his storied career with the Trojans, he completed 64.8 percent of his passes for 10,693 passing yards, while tossing in 99 touchdowns and 23 interceptions. He is still currently USC’s all-time leader in career touchdown passes and completion percentage and he ranks second behind Carson Palmer in completions and yardage. Leinart was the proud owner of a 37-2 overall record during his time as the signal-caller for the Trojans.
In 2002, Carson Palmer became the Trojans’ fifth Heisman Trophy winner and their first since 1981. That season he threw for 3,639 passing yards and 32 touchdowns in guiding the Trojans to an Orange Bowl appearance against the Iowa Hawkeyes and their quarterback, Brad Banks. After defeating Iowa in the Orange Bowl, Palmer and the Trojans finished the season with a No. 4 overall ranking–the school’s highest finish in the polls since 1979.