Matt Leinart is synonymous with college football for most average sports fans.
The former USC star quarterback was a staple on the iconic Trojans team led by Pete Carroll from 2001 to 2005. Leinart was one of the biggest reasons USC reached back-to-back national championship games. He threw for 335 yards and five touchdowns to help USC triumph over Oklahoma and win the BCS title game to close out the 2004 season and won the Heisman Trophy to cap it all off.
One year later, Leinart put together another stellar performance in the championship game, but the Trojans fell to Texas on a now iconic two-point conversion from Vince Young with just 19 seconds remaining.
Leinart was selected by the Arizona Cardinals with the 10th pick in the 2006 NFL Draft and spent seven seasons in the league, playing for the Texans, Raiders and Bills as well.
He now serves as an analyst on Big Noon Kickoff on FSI. It’s easy to understand why Leinart’s name is connected with the game of football, but the former Heisman Trophy winner has discovered a new passion for another sport for the fastest growing sport in America over the past few years. Leinart is an avid pickleball player and is a minority owner of the 5’s, a Major League Pickleball team.
On Tuesday, Leinart met with the Sporting News on behalf of Abbott’s Ensure Max Protein, the exclusive protein shake of the PPA tour. Leinart talked about his love for pickleball, while sharing the importance of muscle health, noting that adults may experience up to eight percent of muscle loss each decade after age 40.
What inspired you to partner with Abbott and Ensure Max Protein?
“I think as I’ve got older – 42 now – still young, still young, but I’ve gotten a little bit older, I love working with companies and people who have a great vision and commitment for people to stay healthy and strong and all those things as they get a little bit older in their life. That aligns with me just kind of where I’m at in my life right now,” Leinart said about his partnership with Abbott, global health leader.
What continues to drive you athletically now that you’re in your 40’s?
“As a former athlete, even though I like to consider myself still an athlete, I just know how important muscle health is to maintain as you get older. And Ensure Max Protein is something that something that makes it easy to do that as I still kind of live this active lifestyle whether it’s playing pickleball, or whether it’s chasing my kids around or just finding other ways to exercise.”
How long have you been playing pickleball?
“Probably 2022ish is when it started to kind of really grow in the community where I live in. And then I had an opportunity to get involved with a pickleball team a couple years ago. So that was kind of my big tie in with pickleball as a minority investor in a pro team and then that’s where it really just took off. I love I love playing it. I love the social aspect of it. I love that you can play it really at all ages.”
Leinart joined cooking influencer Adrianna Adarme and squared off against 11-time PPA Tour Champion Callie Jo Smith in a friendly match of pickleball to help spread the word about the importance of muscle health and why they drink Ensure Max Protein. You can WATCH HERE.