Pete Carroll Matt Quotations

He'll forever be grateful for the opportunity in the Notre Dame game, to make the play that he had to make to set up the win, and to be part of the touchdown to win the game. That's a moment that you can only get maybe, if you're lucky, once in a lifetime. That was kind of a pivotal opportunity that Matt will never forget.

Matt had a spike or sneak option on the final touchdown play. We were over on the sideline feinting the spike call, knowing that Matt was going to try the sneak. For a second, he looked at us and then had a little look of doubt on his face and then looked back at Reggie. Reggie said to him, 'Dude, you've got to go for it, man.' And he did.

Matt has no intention of doing that. He knows the possibility. I talked to him about it a week or so ago because I'd heard this stuff floating around, and he said, 'No, I'm not doing that.'

Matt just is rolling, ... He's in such command right now.

Matt Leinart's decision to return for his senior year really sent a message about him as a person and about how much fun it is to play college football.

Matt can hang in those (Hollywood) settings, but he doesn't thrive or dwell on that. It's just because he's in L.A. He's a local kid that's done great. He decided to stay in school and became famous because of that, as well as the other stuff.

Matt did everything he was supposed to do.

Watching the film, I didn't think that would happen because they play such great pass defense and they're so aggressive. But Matt was on fire.

They've been through a lot. They've created a tremendous momentum for us in the program over the years they've been here with all of the winning, and Matt has been the leader of all of that. ... But it's hard to describe and hard to define the impact that these guys have had on the program. They've been through the whole thing.

That last sequence, I didn't want to go to overtime. I thought they'd have an advantage. I told my guys on the last drive we were going for it, ... We had a remarkable opportunity on the inches line. In that sequence, Matt has the option to sneak it or spike it. I pointed to Matt and said, 'Go for the win.'