Is Sam Darnold the rare NFL franchise quarterback from USC?

LOS ANGELES — Sam Darnold needed to remake a football team.
This was during a midweek practice in late September 2016, days after he had been named USC’s starting quarterback, and days before a trip to Utah for another critical Pac-12 Conference game. During a 7-on-7 drill, Darnold had connected with JuJu Smith-Schuster for a touchdown pass. In celebration, Smith-Schuster, the team’s exuberant, go-to wide receiver who would a year later become one of the NFL’s biggest per