Todd Marinovich, 48, Wants To Play Football Again

You remember Todd Marinovich, even if you never saw him play. His father, Marv, was one of the first Crazy Sports Dads, who attempted through rigorous training and sheer will to create an NFL quarterback in a lab.

He succeeded in the sense that his son, Todd, played at USC and in the NFL. But it didn’t last long, and soon Todd found himself out of the NFL, addicted to drugs, and in and out of jail.

Now, at age 48, Marinovich wants to give it another go, the Desert Sun reports.

"The former NFL and college star who just turned 48 on July 4, has joined the desert’s developmental football team the SoCal Coyotes after serving as an assistant coach last season. He will be in uniform and in the huddle at Shadow Hills High School for the team’s first practice Aug. 10. That’s quite a change in scenery for Marinovich compared to where he was the previous August. On Aug. 22, 2016 Marinovich was tackled by his addiction again. He was arrested in Irvine when he was found naked wandering around someone’s backyard with marijuana and a paper bag with meth and syringes in it. He was cited for trespassing, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana."

Marinovich was sentenced to 90 days in jail for that incident, but worked out a deal to stay out of jail if he stays out of trouble for three years, He told reporters at a press conference he’s now sober and feeling great, although this is not his first attempt at sobriety.

"“When i made several attempts at recovery, I said ‘I’m going to go get treatment and then I’m going to go back to my life,’ and that never worked,” he said. “Now my recovery IS my life. I’ve meshed the two, so there’s no separation and really what I’ve found to be driving the illness that I suffered from was separation. I was separated from the source (points up), I was separated from you, and I was separated from me. And that’s no way to live.”"

Now he has to try to win a job against a 25-year-old incumbent, Jacob Russell, who threw 35 touchdowns in an undefeated season last year.

"“Talk about comebacks. we’re not talking about football really,” he said. “My best friends weren’t betting on me, and that’s not betting on me to come back to play football, that’s on me coming back to be on the planet. So just being right here, right now is a win. I’m comfortable for the very first time in my own skin and man, what a gift.”"