Florida Atlantic coach Lane Kiffin is no stranger to offering young football players a scholarship, once tendering David Sills, then a 13-year-old quarterback, an offer to play for USC. Now, Kiffin has offered another quarterback a scholarship -- this time an 11-year-old.
Cole Leinart, the son of Matt Leinart, a 5-foot-7 sixth-grader, now holds an offer from Florida Atlantic, ESPN confirmed. Kiffin has a relationship with the older Leinart from their time at USC, where Kiffin was the wide receivers coach then the offensive coordinator for Leinart's final season with the Trojans.
The offer is a nice gesture from Kiffin, but the NCAA doesn't truly recognize football players as prospects until their ninth-grade year.