FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Sam Darnold went from being a college student and Heisman Trophy hopeful in Los Angeles to a perceived franchise savior in New York.
It has been a whirlwind, coast-to-coast year for the New York Jets quarterback, who is adapting to life in the Big Apple after spending his entire life in Southern California.
In a not-so-serious interview with ESPN, Darnold shared some thoughts on the transition and his new life.
What do you want to do in New York that you haven’t done yet?
Sam Darnold: I haven’t had the great pizza that everyone is talking about. So that’s one thing I want to do. Other than that, I haven’t gone to the Jersey shore. I don’t know if that’s a New York thing. You know what I want to do? I want to go to the 9/11 Memorial. I heard that’s amazing and crazy to look at, an amazing museum. So I haven’t done that. I’d like to do that.
Describe the last time you got recognized by a fan in public.
Darnold: It was actually [Monday]. Me and Josh [McCown] went into Panera Bread. We were just kind of sitting down and having our sandwiches, and this guy came out. I thought he was about to faint because he was so excited to see the both of us. He took a picture. It was kind of funny.
Do you get recognized more in New York or Los Angeles?
Darnold: Oh, definitely here, especially with Jets fans. They’re everywhere. I mean, the USC thing is pretty crazy, too, but there are a lot of things in L.A. New York is kind of like L.A. If I walk around, not everyone is going to notice me because not everyone watches football, especially in New York. But I feel like everyone in Jersey is a Jets fan, and I always get recognized here.
What do you miss about California?
Darnold: It’s starting to rain here a little bit — so the weather. No, I mean, I love it here. I think the biggest thing about California is the people, especially my friends and family. That’s what I miss.
As the USC quarterback, you must have met some celebrities. Who?
Darnold: I met quite a few people. Will Ferrell is up there. I got a chance to meet and hang out with Sam Hunt. He’s actually a pretty cool dude. I got to go to a concert a couple of years ago. He actually played at UAB (quarterback, 2005-07). He was coached by Tyson Helton, who coached me in college at USC. So it kind of came full circle and I was able to hook up with him and hang out for just a little bit. Russ [Vitale] the Rapper, I met him.
You had Will Ferrell as a guest on your weekly podcast last year at USC. What’s he like?
Darnold: So he’s a funny dude. I’m a huge Will Ferrell fan. I met him at the Cal game. He actually came out to watch us at Cal a couple of years ago. He’s just a normal dude. A lot of people think, oh, he must be hilarious all the time. Nah, he’s just kind of chill. Very relaxed dude, but when he sees an opportunity to make a joke or say something funny, he always does. He’s a good dude.
What about celebrities in New York?
Darnold: I mean, I’m friends with Gary V [Vaynerchuk, entrepreneur and avid Jets fan], which is pretty cool.
What do you do for fun away from football?
Darnold: I just like hanging out with my friends, honestly. I mean, as long as I’m in good company and with cool people and we’re just hanging out and having a good time, that’s usually what I like to do. When I’m home, if you want to go to the beach or anything like that, I’m always down. When I’m here, I’ll hang out, grab a bite to eat. I’ll play a video game every now and then. But not too many video games. I’m open to a lot of things, but the biggest thing is just having cool people to hang out with.
Tell us something about you that people don’t know.
Darnold: I mean, everyone knows pretty much everything about me already. Did you see how Kawhi [Leonard] answered that, by the way?
A lot of people think you’re a surfer, and you’re not, right?
Darnold: Yeah, I’m not a surfer. A lot of people think I am. That might be one thing. It’s funny, I did a commercial for Toyota, and they had a surfboard on top of the car I was driving in the commercial. I was like, ‘Guys, I don’t surf.’ Everyone thinks I surf. All my friends give me crap when someone says, ‘Oh, Darnold surfs.’ They’re like, ‘Dude, you can’t keep telling people you surf. You know you can’t surf.’ All my friends surf.”
What kind of music do you listen to before a game?
Darnold: It kind of depends, actually. I don’t have a superstition or anything, but before every game I have to listen to “15th and the 1st” by Gucci Mane. You don’t know that song? You should listen to it. It’s a good one to listen to right before you go to bed [joking]. I’ve listened to that song since senior year of high school. Yep, right before the game, that was the first song I listened to. But after that, whatever I feel like.”
What is something that would surprise people to see in your apartment?
Darnold: (long pause) I don’t know. I just have a normal apartment, dude. I don’t have anything for you.
Any big splurges with your signing bonus, either for you or your family?
Darnold: I mean, I did a little thing with Kay Jewelers and I was able to get my mom a few thousand bucks, which was cool. They put together a lot of stuff with that in terms of redesigning our house and doing some stuff there in California, which was really cool.
What about for yourself?
Darnold: One thing people should know about me is I’m a simple, simple guy. Some people can probably already guess that. I mean, I don’t need anything to make me happy. I already have all that I want, so I’m definitely the guy who’s probably not going to spend any of his NFL money.
So we’ll never see you driving a Porsche?
Darnold: That’s the only thing, I might drive a nice car. [smiling] But I’m definitely not going to go crazy and buy chains and a bunch of jewelry. Until I get a girlfriend or a wife, that’s never going to change.
Best thing you ever purchased?
Darnold: To be honest, I get a lot of stuff for free. You would think once you become a professional, you’re going to get all this money and spend it, but there are so many different perks. I get a bunch of free stuff from Nike all the time, so I don’t need to be spending money. So I haven’t bought anything crazy.