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Two men enter, one man leaves


For more than two years, Matt Leinart has been the toast of Tinseltown.

He hangs out with Jimmy Kimmel and Jessica Simpson, and has the USC football team well on its way to a third straight national title.

Sam Keller, on the other hand, is quickly becoming a fan favorite in Tempe, after just five career starts.

The two will go head-to-head Saturday, as Keller gets the opportunity to live out a true Hollywood move and outshine the star.

That is, if Keller was actually interested in that sort of stuff.

"I just like playing football," Keller said. "My teammates are like my brothers. This isn't Los Angeles, but I wouldn't trade this place for anyplace in the world. I'm at home here. I don't need to have Jessica Simpson running around or anybody like that to make me happy."

Whether he wants it or not, the fame gained from outperforming a player like Leinart would no doubt shoot Keller to superstardom. While he has gained rave reviews locally, Keller is still in the shadows of the more high-profile national quarterbacks.

He has the highest passing yard and touchdown totals in the nation, but Keller still finds himself trailing the likes of Leinart and Texas' Vince Young in the Heisman Trophy watch list.

"That's something totally out of my control," Keller said. "It's an honor just to be mentioned anywhere remotely close to the Heisman Trophy. When I came into this this year, I was just hoping to be the guy that didn't screw things up."

Leinart, last year's Heisman Trophy winner, is leading the list again, and for good reason. He currently has the second-highest quarterback rating in college football and has thrown for 1,078 yards and 10 touchdowns in three games.

And the fact that he consistently does it while in the limelight is a tribute Leinart's level-headedness.

"This is off the charts how much publicity, how much hype, how much he's in the spotlight," USC coach Pete Carroll said. "He has just been handling it beautifully from the start. Matt's always been the same. He hasn't wavered one bit on how deals with it."

Keller has nothing but praise for the two-time All-American.

"He's a real leader out there," he said. "He's just got total command of that offense. Whatever he does works."

When Leinart and the Trojans went up against ASU last year; it was over by halftime as USC rolled to a 45-7 victory. Back then, Keller watched idly as the Andew Walter-led Sun Devils were manhandled early.

This time he gets the start and promises history won't repeat itself.

"That will not be the case this time," Keller said. "We will not get down that much, and if we do, we will come back."

Reach the reporter at kyle.odegard@asu.edu.


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