Matt Leinart says USC asked to unretire his jersey for recruits

Fox Sports college football analyst and former USC Trojans quarterback Matt Leinart was, at one point or another, among the most recognizable college quarterbacks on all-time.

The Heisman winner played for USC at a time when that still meant something, and led the Trojans to a national championship in 2004. Leinart has solidified himself in both USC and college football lore.

But apparently those accolades aren’t enough for his alma mater to respect that his No. 11 jersey should stay retired, for good. Appearing on his Throwbacks Podcast, Leinart revealed that USC has, on multiple occasions, asked if Leinart would unretire his number so top recruits could wear it. His answer each time: “Absolutely f*cking not.”

“There’s been multiple times where people at USC have asked me if I would unretire my jersey for some five-star prospect,” Leinart said. “And do you want to know what I told those guys straight up? I said, ‘Absolutely f*cking not.’ I am never going to unretire my jersey for some random dude who by the way now could wear No. 11 and transfer after a year.”

There is one exception, however, that Leinart would make to bring back the No. 11 jersey at USC.

“The only person that will ever wear my USC No. 11 would be [my son] Cole, who’s not there right now. He’s at SMU. Or two of my boys if they end up going to USC and playing football. That is it,” the Fox Sports analyst said.

Interestingly, not every legendary USC quarterback has held such a hard line. Carson Palmer allowed Jordan Addison to wear his No. 3 jersey during the wide receiver’s lone season with the Trojans.

But with all Leinart accomplished during his collegiate career, he has every right to decide who will and will not wear No. 11 for the Trojans.