Matt Leinart named Sporting News' College Athlete of the Decade

Photo by Kevork Djansezian (A/P)

Although it has been almost four years since Matt Leinart donned a USC uniform, he is still raking in collegiate awards and accolades.

In case you missed it, the Sporting News recently named current Arizona Cardinal and former USC Trojans quarterback, Matt Leinart, College Football Athlete of the Decade. Much to the chagrin of Florida Gators fans (and Tim Tebow for that matter) Leinart received the award after putting together one of the most impressive college football resumes in recent years.

During his time with the Trojans, Leinart consistently performed on the field with a 37-2 won-loss record while throwing for 10,679 yards and 109 touchdowns. Factor in a Heisman and two national titles and you've got yourself a player of the decade.

Another former Trojan, LenDale White had some kind words regarding his former QB:

"Definitely, Leinart is the guy. What he did in college was unreal. The way he took that pro-style offense and orchestrated the whole thing himself, it just shows you how talented and what kind of leader he was. I've played with Vince Young and seen what he can do. But I feel blessed to have played with Matt Leinart. That offense we played in, it was my first love, so to speak. That's where everything started for me, him and all of us. The Notre Dame game (in 2005), on fourth-and- 9 he called an audible to exactly what it needed to be and threw the ball exactly where it needed to be. That's what he's all about."

Here are a few of Leinart's other achievements over the years:

2003

Collegefootballnews.com All-American first team
SI.com All-American second team
Rivals.com All-American honorable mention
Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year
All-Pac-10 first team
ESPN.com All-Pac-10 MVP
ESPN.com All-Pac-10 first team
Collegefootballnews.com Pac-10 Player of the Year
Collegefootballnews.com Pac-10 Offensive MVP
Touchdown Club of Columbus' Archie Griffin Award
USC's team MVP

2004

Heisman Trophy Winner
Rose Bowl MVP
Walter Camp Award
AP player of the year
Touchdown Club Manning Award
Touchdown Club QB of the Year
Victor Award (Player of the Year)
James E. Sullivan Award Finalist
Newport college player of the year
AP All-American first team
Football Coaches All-American first team
ESPN, CSTV, Rivals.com, SI.com, and CFB News first team All-American
Pac-10 Co-offensive player of the year
ESPN.com player of the year
Rivals.com player of the year
Pre-season All-American

2005

Orange Bowl MVP
Unitas Award
Finalist for Heisman Trophy
All-American Offensive Player
LA Sports Sportsman of the Year
Sporting News Sportsman of the Year
National Championship MVP

2006

Cosmopolitan Fun Fearless Males 2006
ESPN Hottest Male Athlete of the Year
People Magazine 100 Most Beautiful People
10th Pick in the 2006 NFL draft

While Leinart's professional career hasn't exactly worked out as planned with the Arizona Cardinals, no one can take away the fact that he was one of the most dynamic players on one the most dynamic teams that college football has ever seen.

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