Nick Daschel is a veteran sports writer and columnist who has worked on the West coast for nearly three decades. Nick has covered the Pac-10 for about 15 years, primarily focusing on the Northwest schools.
Note: With the NFL draft approaching later in April, we thought it would be fun to look back at the Pac-10’s top draft picks of the past decade (2000-09) to see where we would pick them. Continuing today and ending sometime close to the draft on April 25, we’ll count down a first round worth of Pac-10 draft picks, from 32 to 1. The list includes five quarterbacks, five running backs, five defensive linemen, six linebackers, three defensive backs, three wide receivers, three offensive linemen and two tight ends.
7. MATT LEINART, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, QB
Matt Leinart was Tim Tebow before there was Tim Tebow -- a quarterback who decided to come back to school for his senior year with absolutely nothing more to prove other than college is fun.
Passing up a chance to become the first pick of the 2005 NFL draft, Leinart returned to USC for his senior season having already won two national titles – including one shared in 2004 – and a Heisman Trophy. Coming back may have cost Leinart some in draft status – he ended up going 10th to Arizona in the 2006 draft – but by sticking around for his senior season, he become part of a game some consider one of the best ever played: the 2006 BCS championship game in the Rose Bowl against Texas.
A case could be made that Leinart was the best quarterback in Pac-10 history, and certainly no one could argue that he was among the league’s top 10 players of the modern era. Gad, Leinart was 37-2 as a starter, losing his only two games by a field goal each. Leinart passed for nearly 11,000 yards for his career with a completion rate of 65 percent, and threw for 99 touchdowns.
Other than the fat contract Leinart signed upon entering the NFL, college is his football highlight. Leinart is on the verge of becoming a professional bust, as after three years he is doing little more than holding a clipboard in Arizona.
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