Who's Steve Clarkson? Well, he's the guy working out USC's Matt Leinart in the photo. This one taken in 2005. He's also worked Leinart out this year, and is a key member of Team Leinart.
This bio I found on his old website reveals all, but before I subject you to a long read let me inform you that he's got a great relationship with former USC and now Tennessee Titans Offensive Coordinator Norm Chow, at least that's what Clarkson reports on his website.
It may be this relationship that caused Leinart to consider the agent switch to begin with. It may be that Matt believed that this relationship -- and not Leigh Steinberg -- was the key to his becoming a Titan.
It also sheds light on why some believed that Ben Rothelisberger might switch to CAA, now that the movie talent giant's football practice is marketing Mr. Clarkson's Air 7.
Whatever the story, it's clear that Mr. Clarkson's relationships -- or more accurately his maintenance of them -- is paying off.
Well, check out this bio on Clarkson:
What separates Steve and Air 7 from the rest is Steve's ability to parlay his relationships into the strongest network of college coaches and contacts among anyone who works in football at the high school level. His success as a quarterback coach, combined with the personal relationships he developed as a player and a coach, have given his students a much greater chance of getting to the next level.
Not only a quarterback coach, Steve excels as an offensive coordinator, having produced city championships (Carson HS), record setting quarterbacks (Perry Klein - Pacific Palisades, David Koral - Palisades, John Walsh - Carson, and Steve Sarkisian - El Camino) and providing fans an exciting glimpse into the future of the passing offense.
Steve is a 1979 graduate of LA Wilson High School. During that time, Steve led his Wilson High team to three LA City Championships with a three year record of 39-1. In addition, he was named to the All-City teams his Junior and Senior seasons and was the All-City Player of the Year in 1978. In that season, he led the state in passing yards and total offense. In the early 80s, Clarkson was a record-setting quarterback at San Jose State where he wore the number seven (hence the name of his company). He was briefly in the NFL and CFL with Denver and Saskatchawan. While at San Jose State, he was a three year starter name to the Academic All-American teams in 1981 and 1982. He played for Jack Elway (John's father) and Dennis Erickson where he went on to coach at the University of Miami and then with the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers in the NFL.
The creation of the CaliFlorida Bowl HS All-Star Football game has allowed Steve to communicate directly and frequently with scores of college football head coaches, most notably Pete Carroll (USC), Karl Dorrell (UCLA), Mark Richt (Georgia) and Phillip Fulmer (Tennessee).
Having spent the last 20 years in the field of football training and coaching, Steve has developed relationships with: Bill Walsh (San Francisco 49ers); Jack Kemp (Current President of USA Football, Former Congressmen and Buffalo Bills Quarterback); Dennis Erickson (Steve’s godfather, former head coach at U of Miami, OSU & SF 49ers); Terry Donohue (Former UCLA head coach & SF 49er GM); John Elway (Hall of Fame QB); Mike Price (UTEP) Bill Walsh; Mike White (Kansas City Chiefs QB Coach) and NFL Rookie of the Year, Ben Roethlisberger (a client of Steve).
Among Steve’s closest professional relationships, is the one he has with Norm Chow. Norm and Steve have a strong relationship dating back to the early 80’s. Initially, the relationship began when Norm had great success at BYU, utilizing quarterbacks who had trained under Clarkson (John Walsh & Steve Sarkisian). Since those days, the two have become good friends as well. Most recently, the common bond has been Matt Leinart, a pupil of Steve’s, who became Norm’s most recent Heisman Trophy winning quarterback.
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