It’s a quiet morning in San Clemente. The marine layer clings to the coastline and the air smells faintly of salt and sunscreen. It’s a familiar sight and scent for Sam Darnold, the So Cal native who’s persevered through trials and tribulations to now be the Seahawks starting quarterback in Super Bowl 60.

 

 

 

Everyone knows Darnold’s story and therefore, thinks they know him. But they really don’t.

This is the version of Darnold very few know about.

Sam Darnold with his sister Franki Darnold, father Michael Darnold, and mother Chris Darnold in an undated family photo.

Before he was the Seattle Seahawks’ $100 million quarterback. Before he was the third overall pick by the New York Jets in 2018. Before he was labeled a bust, a backup, a reclamation project. Before the NFL turned his name into a referendum. Before he bounced through five teams in eight seasons. Before the Rose Bowl comeback against Penn State.

Before any of it — Darnold’s origin starts with a family wired for competition and resilience in Dana Point and San Clemente.

 

 

 

 

His mother, Chris, a physical education teacher at Shorecliffs Middle School and former college volleyball player. His father, Mike, a former offensive lineman at Redlands College who works as a plumber. His older sister, Franki, a college volleyball player at the University of Rhode Island who quietly set the standard for what elite athletic commitment looked like. And looming in the family history is his grandfather, Dick Hammer — USC athlete, Marlboro Man, Hollywood actor, and a larger than life personality.

“My mom and dad had that blue-collar background,” Darnold told NBC earlier this season. “I had a wonderful sister who is three-years older than me and I was able to learn from what she went through and how hard she worked. It was incredible to have the parents and sister that I had. Grandpa was a legend too.”

Sam Darnold with his sister Franki Darnold, father Michael Darnold, and mother Chris Darnold in an Instagram family photo.

Sports weren’t an activity in the Darnold household. They were a language. Sam played football, basketball, baseball. He spent afternoons playing beach volleyball, learning how to compete without a scoreboard. His parents taught him the most important lesson early: failure doesn’t define you, but how you respond does.

Own your mistakes. Turn the page. Get better.

Basketball, though, was his first love. Growing up in the shadows of Los Angeles during the Kobe Bryant era will do that to you.

 

 

 

“Getting to play basketball as a kid, especially growing up in Southern California, getting to watch Kobe Bryant with the Lakers…it was always fun to watch him and try and emulate him,” he said.

When Darnold arrived at San Clemente High School, there was already a starting quarterback. If he wanted to play, he had to adapt. So he did. Receiver. Linebacker. Whatever the team needed him to do.

“Whether it was baseball, whether it was football, whether it was basketball, whether it was soccer, Sam was always an ultra-competitor,” said Jaime Ortiz, his high school football coach — the same coach still patrolling the sidelines today.

 

 

 

Ortiz noticed something special during Darnold’s freshman year, but injuries slowed the ascent. Then came his senior season, when everything detonated.

“He was the league MVP in football. He was the league MVP in basketball. He was the CIF Offensive Player of the Year. The Orange County Athlete of the Year,” Ortiz said. “Everybody kind of recognized, whether it was on the basketball court or on the football field, that Sam was one of the best athletes to come out of Orange County.”

Sam Darnold with his father Michael Darnold in an undated family photo.

Ortiz still texts with Darnold weekly. Darnold still comes back to work out at the high school. He spoke to players there this past summer. The relationship never changed — the stage just got bigger.

“There’s a lot of Seahawks fans down here in San Clemente,” Ortiz said, laughing. “They weren’t there last year, but they are now, primarily because of Sam. The city is proud of him.”

Despite the accolades, Darnold wasn’t heavily recruited. But one man saw it.

 

 

 

Steve Sarkisian.

After watching the tape and meeting the red-haired quarterback, Sarkisian offered Darnold a scholarship to USC — the dream school of a kid who grew up idolizing Matt Leinart and Matt Barkley.

At USC, Darnold forged friendships that still define him. One of the earliest was with Uchenna Nwosu, whom he met at 17 and later shared Co-MVP honors with as Trojans.

 

 

 

“I’ve seen him doing this since we were 17 years old,” Nwosu said. “I’m so happy he’s proven all the doubters wrong.”

Nwosu also revealed one of Darnold’s most endearing quirks.

“He’s a jokester. He likes birds. He likes all types of birds. He has an app that allows him to identify all types of birds that he sees.”

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold speaks during the NFL Super Bowl Opening Night.

His mentors, Barkley and Leinart, both remain close, fiercely proud.

“Sam is such a great representation of the Trojan Family,” Barkley told The Post. “I love his work ethic, perseverance and determination.”

Leinart put it more bluntly.

“Sam is the true definition of ‘Fight On’,” he said. “After playing for multiple teams that didn’t believe in him, here he is, starting in the Super Bowl.”

 

 

 

Fight on is what he had to do once he got to the NFL as things didn’t go as scripted.

He was drafted third overall by the Jets in 2018, but those years were bruising. Confidence eroded. Carolina was turbulent, but there he made a friend for life in another 2018 draft class quarterback, Baker Mayfield.

“Sam and I are really close,” Mayfield said this week. “I’m happy for him. From going a couple different places that weren’t great for us to having a good opportunity elsewhere, it’s fun to see. I knew he just needed that chance, and he’s thriving now. It’s good to see.”

Opportunity felt conditional. But Darnold never stopped being himself.

 

 

 

 

Josh Allen, his close friend from that same 2018 class, sees it clearly.

“As a thrower, I don’t know if you can find somebody that spins the ball more than he does,” Allen said. “He’s naturally gifted. He’s smart. And we love sharing movie quotes with each other to see who gets the reference.”

So does former teammate Brett Rypien.

“He’s always got a movie quote up his sleeve. He’s a big Will Ferrell guy.”

Sam Darnold and Katie Hoofnagle in an undated Instagram photo.

In San Francisco two seasons ago, Darnold learned the game again under Kyle Shanahan and Klint Kubiak, his current offensive coordinator in Seattle. Last year in Minnesota, when J.J. McCarthy went down, Darnold led the Vikings to 14 wins and revived his career.

McCarthy revealed another layer to Darnold unknown to the public.

“He’s a big *NSYNC and Justin Timberlake fan. He even dressed like him for the Halloween party,” McCarthy told the Minnesota Star Tribune last January, “He looked identical. It was old-school Justin Timberlake.”

 

 

 

In Seattle, Darnold became the guy who picked up dinner tabs, who bonded with teammates, who competed in everything from golf to basketball — and hated losing.

Now, all of it funnels into Sunday. The Super Bowl. The final test. The loudest stage.

Darnold isn’t a redemption story. He’s not a cautionary tale. He’s a study in endurance, someone who refused to let the league decide who he was going to be.

Sam Darnold with his sister Franki Darnold and father Michael Darnold in an undated family photo.

On Sunday, the world will watch him throw passes and determine who he is based on the result. Again.
But the people who know him best already know the answer.

He’s still Sam. He’s the happy-go-lucky kid in flip-flops and board shorts, bouncing between sports, beaches, and friendly backyard competitions. And that’s enough.