Sam Darnold was nervous. While the heralded quarterback prospects in this year’s draft faced similar pressures over the course of the 2017 season—prime-time games against marquee opponents, an intense spotlight, minute criticisms—Darnold had a unique obstacle ahead of him on this fall afternoon. He had Will Ferrell on episode four his podcast.
The skittish chuckles, the umms and uhhs before questions about George Bush impressions and the voice immodulation sketch, were all by design, the brainchild of Darnold and Yogi Roth, a former college football player, Pac-12 analyst and filmmaker who pitched Darnold the idea of a podcast that would stretch throughout his junior season at USC.