Former USC Trojans Quarterback Honors Legacy, Setback, Triumph in Memoir

The USC Trojans have produced some of college football’s top talent, including quarterback Todd Marinovich. From 1989–91, he endured intense training, success, and struggles—emerging as an elite player, who faced setback off the field.

Dec 22, 1991; Los Angeles, CA, USA; FILE PHOTO; Los Angeles Raiders quarterback Todd Marinovich (12) on the field prior to a game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Peter Brouillet-USA TODAY NETWORK | Peter Brouillet-Imagn Images

The USC Trojans' football legacy has been built on producing elite talent across the board. The blue-blood program boasts numerous accolades including Heisman Trophy winners and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductions.

One of the most elite, well-known Southern California talents was former USC Trojans quarterback Todd Marinovich.

Marinovich’s Memoir Honors Complicated Career

Dec 8, 1991; Los Angeles, CA, USA; FILE PHOTO; Los Angeles Raiders quarterback Todd Marinovich (12) prior to a game against the Buffalo Bills at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Imagn Images | RVR Photos-Imagn Images

Marinovich's football career remains one of the most notorious stories in the sport, especially during his time with the Trojans.

His Memoir, Marinovich: Outside the Lines in Football, Art and Addiction, written by author Lizzy Wright with Marinovich, tells his story of what made him the athlete he was, and the man he is today. The goal for both Wright and Marinovich was to perfectly craft his story as a message memoir, rather a biography.

Marinovich's USC career was nearly 40 years ago -- why release his memoir now? Beyond the large time gap, his story carries a broader purpose for today's generation of athletes: highlighting heavy parental influence on young athletes and the ongoing battle of addiction and trauma, offering a message of redemption.

Lizzy Wright

While Marinovich never faced some of football current landscapes like revenue sharing, multiple transfer portal windows and NIL, his purpose lies within other situations within his career.

The media shaped him out to be an elite player with a complex football history. Marinovich's pure talent produced popular nicknames like "America's first test-tube athlete" and "Robo Quarterback," inspired by the intense training and development approach he received at a young age.

USC Served as The 'Marinovich Family Church'

Sep 29, 1990; Columbus, OH, USA; FILE PHOTO; Southern California Trojans quarterback Todd Marinovich (13) in action against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Imagn Images | RVR Photos-Imagn Images

The memoir unfolds from Marinovich's perspective, giving readers immediate insight into his quest to carry on the Marinovich legacy in South Central.

The Mater Dei High School Product follows a long line of history at USC, with nine generations of Marinovich's repping the cardinal and gold.

The list begins with his great uncles Bruce and Perry attending USC in the '40s followed by grandfather Henry Fertig in the '50s, uncle Craig Fertig, his mother Trudi Fertig Marinovich, sister Traci Marinovich Grove and cousin Jennifer Fertig.

His father, Marv Marinovich, captained the 1962 National Championship team and was a two-way talent as a lineman at USC.

The silver lining behind Marinovich's memoir and career was honesty. Marinovich was a quarterback with natural talent, but was heavily influenced by intense training, negative self-talk and substance abuse when discovering his true ability to play.

Marinovich's Strain with Coach Larry Smith

Unknown date, 1989; Los Angeles, CA, USA: FILE PHOTO; Southern California head coach Larry Smith on the sideline during the 1989 season at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Long Photography-Imagn Images | Long Photography-Imagn Images

Marinovich's USC career remains one of the best ever for a freshman. In two seasons, he finished with 4,649 passing yards and 28 passing touchdowns. He was named College Freshman of the Year, won the 1990 Rose Bowl, and received All Pac-10 Quarterback honors in 1989 as freshman, making him the first to earn that honor as a rookie.

Marinovich's battles with substance and his unhealthy training program, steered him away from a steady path. For USC coach Larry Smith, Marinovich's addiction history did not last long under Smith's leadership, and ultimately led to a poor player-coach relationship between the two.

"(Marinovich) was the pinnacle of elite performance for USC. Now what he did off the field, did that reflect the blue-blood standard? No, That led to so much tension with Coach Larry Smith," Wright said.

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After the 1991 season, Marinovich went on to declare for the NFL Draft, making him the first sophomore ever to delcare after two collegiate seasons.

Per NFL guidelines, since Marinovich was three years out from high school, along with his redshirt freshman season, Marinovich saw an opportunity to play at the next level.

Because Marinovich was too young to attend the NFL Combine, he took matters into his own hands. Marinovich hosted his own Combine at the Coliseum and invited a variety of NFL coaches with the help of his agents Mike Barnett and Tom Condon.

Marinovich was drafted by the Los Angeles Raiders as the 24th overall pick in the 1991 NFL Draft, dropping him right back at where he started: The Coliseum.

Trojan Brotherhood Went Beyond Marinovich's Immediate Teammates

Nov 4, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers former safety Troy Polamalu is recognized for his induction into the Southern California Trojans hall of fame at halftime of an NCAA football game against the Arizona Wildcats at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

In the midst of Marinovich's fame came struggle at the peak of his substance abuse. His recovery relied heavily on those around him: The Trojan family.

"This is a team guy at his core, and and I see this among all of the former USC players, they will do just about anything to take care of each other," Wright said. "Some of Todd's teammates from USC pooled funds to pay for one of Todd's rehab stints, that's how much we're talking about the commitment to the brotherhood (and the) idea of bleeding Cardinal and gold."

Some of Marinovich's most vital support stemmed from players on earlier USC teams, including safety Troy Polamalu and running back Marcus Allen, both who endorsed Marinovich's book.

Along with different generations of USC Football extending their support, Marinovich described the eternal bond among all USC football players, that helped shape his career as a Trojan.

“Any lingering uncertainty about my USC decision vanished as I emerged from the tunnel in a sheath of goose bumps beside some of my favorite teammates: Tim (Ryan), Scott (Ross), and Junior (Seau). Instead of the maximum of ten thousand in attendance at my biggest high school games, roughly eighty thousand fans were packed into the stands. My insides screamed, This is where I’m meant to be: with my boys, suited up in cardinal and gold,” Marinovich wrote.