Matt Leinart clarifies Lincoln Riley has not asked him to unretire number at USC

Matt Leinart added context to his stance about not allowing his No. 11 to be unretired by USC, saying head coach Lincoln Riley has not asked the former quarterback. He didn’t name names when the Heisman winner said USC has asked him in the past.

Because he didn’t name names, some assumed it was Riley who wanted to appease recruits. Leinart denied the head coach had anything to do with those requests.

“Coach Riley hasn’t asked me if a recruit can wear my number so we can settle that right now,” Leinart wrote on Twitter/X. “I’ve been asked in the past before and have said the same thing every time. This isn’t a big deal! Fight On.”

To be fair, Leinart did win national championships and a Heisman, playing with a loaded roster under Pete Carroll. He threw for 10,693 yards, 99 touchdowns, 23 interceptions and ran for another nine scores in his career.

In 2004, when he won the Heisman, Leinart threw for 3,322 yards, 33 touchdowns and six picks. The College Football Hall of Famer recently explained the request and why he wouldn’t give it away.

“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 on his Throwbacks Podcast. “And do you want to know what I told those guys straight up? I said, ‘Absolutely fucking 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.”

The honor itself is really cool for Leinart and others who have had their jersey numbers retired. It’s forever honored inside the stadium and they include: Carson Palmer (3), Reggie Bush (5), Leinart (11), Charles White (12), Caleb Williams (13), Mike Garrett (20), OJ Simpson (32) and Marcus Allen (33). All Heisman winners.

“When I was at USC, I got my number retired,” Leinart said. “You win the Heisman Trophy, automatic retired number, which is pretty cool. So, our jerseys are hanging in the Coliseum on one side.”

In fact, Leinart does have one stipulation for someone to wear his jersey number, should they play for USC. You just had to grow up in his household.

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