He was born on May 11, 1985 in Newport Beach, California. He stands six feet two and weighs 185 pounds.

His father, Paul, was a 3-year (1977-79) letterman quarterback at USC who helped the Trojans to the 1978 national championship and earned All-American and Academic All-American honors in 1979.

He attended highschool at Newport Harbor High in Newport Beach, where he starred in football and volleyball.

In the 2003 season, he redshirted as a first-year freshman walk-on quarterback during his first year at USC. And wasn't able to play in the 2004 season.

Described as a one-time walk-on, he earned a scholarship in the fall of 2005 and was USC's No. 3 quarterback as a sophomore in 2005. Overall in 2005 while appearing briefly in 4 games, he was 1-of-1 for 4 yards and 1 Touch Down. He saw his first career action late in the Arkansas game and threw a 4-yard Touch Down on his first career pass. He played the last 3 snaps versus Washington State and took the final snap of the Stanford and UCLA games.

And in the 2006 season, he will serve as a backup quarterback during his junior year.