Countdown to kickoff is back! USC will kick off its 2026 football season on August 29 when the Trojans host San Jose State at the Coliseum. In this series, we will be counting down the days until the season opener by highlighting a notable Trojan who wore each number.
With 14 days to go, today, we look at former USC quarterback Sam Darnold.
Position: Quarterback
Years played at USC: 2015-2017
Career highlights: After redshirting his first year on campus in 2015, Darnold spent the first three games of the 2016 season as the backup to Max Browne. With the Trojans off to a 1-2 start, however, head coach Clay Helton elected to make a change and inserted Darnold into the starting lineup. USC lost Darnold’s first start at Utah, but after that did not lose again for the rest of the season. The Trojans ended their 2016 campaign on a nine-game winning streak, culminating in an instant classic 52-49 Rose Bowl victory over Penn State, in which Darnold threw for 453 yards and five touchdowns.
The following season, Darnold led USC to its first conference title in nine years, as the Trojans defeated Stanford 31-28 in the Pac-12 Championship Game. That year, he also earned first-team all-Pac-12 honors and became the first USC quarterback to throw for over 4,000 yards in a season. However, the Trojans ended the year in disappointing fashion with a 24-7 blowout loss to Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.
After USC: Following his redshirt sophomore season, Darnold declared for the 2018 NFL Draft, where the New York Jets selected him with the third overall pick. However, he struggled his first few years in the league (as most Jets quarterbacks tend to do), and appeared on track towards being a career backup at best.
In 2024 with the Minnesota Vikings, however—Darnold’s fourth different team in seven years in the league—he finally had a breakthrough season, finishing the year with a career-high 4,319 passing yards and 35 passing touchdowns. After signing with the Seattle Seahawks last year, Darnold had another strong season in 2025, throwing for 4,048 yards and 25 scores. In February, Darnold became the first ever USC quarterback to start and win a Super Bowl, leading Seattle to a 29-13 win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX.
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This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC countdown to kickoff: Recalling USC quarterback Sam Darnold
Reporting by Adam Bradford, Trojans Wire / Trojans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Adam Bradford, Trojans Wire | USA TODAY Network
