Mater Dei QB Cole Leinart transfers midseason to Newport Harbor
Sophomore quarterback Cole Leinart has checked out of Mater Dei and transferred to Newport Harbor, a Mater Dei football team official confirmed Thursday morning.
Leinart is the son of Matt Leinart, who starred at Mater Dei before going on to win the Heisman Trophy at USC in 2004. Cole, a right-handed thrower, is listed at 6-foot-4, 190 pounds and also plays basketball.
Leinart hasn't seen much game action this season behind Stanford commit Elijah Brown, who's been the starter for the last four seasons. Leinart has been in two games this season and completed two of his three passing attempts for a total of 10 yards.
There is no indication yet of Leinart's eligibility status. He would have to move residence to be eligible right away for Newport Harbor, or simply sit out the rest of the season and play his final two years.
Newport Harbor already has a talented quarterback in sophomore Jaden O'Neal, who has thrown for 1,034 yards and 10 touchdowns in five games. Could there be a quarterback competition brewing?
Mater Dei has five other QBs on its roster after Brown and Leinart: Freshmen Furian Infererra and Reagan Toki, along with junior Chase Wegener and senior Josh Valle.
Mater Dei (5-0) is the No. 1-ranked high school team in the country in the SBLive/Sports Illustrated Power 25. Newport Harbor is 2-3 this season.
-- Tarek Fattal | tarek@scorebooklive.com | @sbliveca
