USC Football: Former Trojans QB Matt Cassel Shares His College and NFL Journey
The USC Trojans were a the top of the college football world in the early to mid-2000s. It was a great time to be a Trojan, as they were the best of the best at the time. The time was headlined by head coach Pete Carroll, running back Reggie Bush, and quarterback Matt Leinart.
The three were the best there was, but it wasn't those three alone that made things possible. It was a team effort; everyone played a part, including the backups like QB2 Matt Cassel.
Cassel was a stud of a quarterback himself, but it wasn't enough with Carson Plamer and Leinart breaking out in Southern California. The timing was never there, but he still stuck at USC and paved out a prolonged NFL career.
Although he was never "the man" in college or the NFL, he still had a 16-year career. He shared his journey and process to the pro level.
“They wanted to know what the deal was . . . how I hadn’t started a game at quarterback in college,” he says. His answer? “Well, I backed up Carson Palmer, and he won the Heisman Trophy. And then I backed up Matt Leinart, and he won the Heisman Trophy.”
“All I wanted to do was get noticed, create some interest,” Cassel says, which he did, from New England especially. But not maybe expecting to get drafted. Just to get a chance."
Cassel was taken with the 230th overall pick by the Patriots in the 2005 NFL Draft. He played for seven teams and started in 81 of the 107 games he played in. Cassel also earned himself a Pro Bowl bid in 2010 as the QB for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Although things seem fine and dandy now, at the moment, he never would have thought he'll get a shot in the NFL.
And then he got the call. “Hey Matt, this is Coach Belichick and I want you to know we’re going to draft you, you’re going to be a Patriot.” His first thought, Matt says, was “Is this real?” Was someone playing a joke on him? He even asked his soon-to-be coach if he was kidding. He was not.
“The next thing I saw was they picked me in the seventh round, it came across the ticker,” as Matt and his then girlfriend, now his wife of 16 years, celebrated.
Cassel is the epitome of patience and waiting for your moment. Many people don't have that now, but he made the most of it and is one of 597 Trojans who made the NFL.
