Sam Darnold is ready to complete his story and make history for USC quarterbacks

As memorable USC quarterbacks go, Sam Darnold is rarely the first one mentioned and, despite two great seasons with the Trojans that included an incredible win in the 2018 Rose Bowl, he often gets lost in the shuffle of Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart and Mark Sanchez.

But it's Darnold that will have a chance to be the first USC quarterback to start and win a Super Bowl. There have been others who have won Super Bowl rings as backup quarterbacks, like Rob Johnson, but Darnold can make history for himself and the Trojans. 

"Yeah, there's been a lot of great quarterbacks, but yeah, it's a great opportunity to be able to play in this game, and I'm not taking it for granted," Darnold said.

That quote is part of the reason why Darnold often gets lost in the shuffle during that run of great USC quarterbacks. He doesn't have the magnetic charisma of a Leinart or Sanchez or even Caleb Williams. He's just who he is and if you didn't already know he was an NFL player, you wouldn't likely pick him out of a crowd.

Sam Darnold can do what no USC quarterback has done before

It's been a magical run for Darnold. He was drafted third overall by the New York Jets to be their franchise quarterback, and it was a disaster because the Jets tend to be a disaster. From there, Darnold became a journeyman, landing in Carolina and as a backup in San Francisco.

But last year, he got his chance in Minnesota after J.J. McCarthy was injured in the preseason and Darnold proved that he had a lot of good football left in him. He threw for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns — eight more TD throws than Darnold had in his previous four seasons combined.

Minnesota inexplicably let Darnold walk after leading the Vikings to 14 wins and Seattle gladly took that gift to give and signed Darnold to a $100 million contract. He's proven to be worth the money, and now he's got the Seahawks on the doorstep of winning thier second Super Bowl — and the first for a USC quarterback.

"I think there's the fraternity that is USC in general, but the quarterbacks, you know, I've gotten to know quite a few of them. All great guys, great leaders, great people to be around," Darnold added.