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From: Larry Brown
To: LouPickney@gmail.com
Date: Aug 26, 2005 10:18 AM
Subject: Matt Leinart

What does Matt Leinart have to do to not be taken first in the next draft. Other than a team like the 49ers getting the first pick again with their QB of the future in tact and baring some kind of horrendous injury he has to have the no. 1 spot locked up.

I love the website keep up the good work

Lou: That's an interesting question. Leinart enters the season as a strong #1 prospect, and he would've undoubtedly gone #1 to San Francisco had he entered the 2005 NFL Draft. From a business standpoint (and if you think college football isn't a business, you're fooling yourself), Leinart took a big risk returning to USC to try and put himself among the all-time greats by winning a third straight national championship.

To point: Alex Smith, who was the beneficiary of Leinart's decision to return to school, received a 6 year, $49.5 million contract from the 49ers. Leinart, meanwhile, receives another year of free tuition from USC.

Obviously a team that's not in need of a QB landing in the #1 spot could cause Leinart to not go #1. If the 49ers finish with the worst record again (and the Stardust in Vegas has San Francisco listed lowest on the season over/under with 4½ wins), they won't take Leinart. Now they could trade the pick, but that would entail having to work out a deal, and the 49ers not becoming enamored with another player at that spot.

As for what Leinart could do himself: suffering a major injury would be something that would keep him from the #1 spot, for starters. He's been pretty healthy throughout his career, but he's taking a serious risk by going into another season in the Pac-10.

What else? Leinart could take a sudden interest in, say, scientology, and at the combine try to convert the GMs and scouts instead of answering their questions about him. He could start dabbling in recreational drugs. He could flip out and start doing push-ups in the street in the middle of the night. I doubt that any of those things will happen, but when you're talking "what if?", there's a wide range of possibilities.

Without former USC Offensive Coordinator Norm Chow (gone to the Tennessee Titans), it is possible that Leinart will slip this season. I don't know that this will be the case, as he is still surrounded by a very strong supporting cast, but it is yet another potential concern.

However, in my opinion, barring an accident or a serious on-the-field injury, I project Matt Leinart as the #1 QB prospect and the top prospect in the 2006 Draft. What may be the most difficult challenge is not so much him as it is the luck of the draw, with which team ends up with the first pick in the 2006 Draft.

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