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TEMPE, Ariz. -- Though the temperature was pushing 90 degrees and he was wearing a dark wool suit, Matt Leinart managed to look cool as he stood on the edge of the Arizona Cardinals' practice fields.

Those fields will soon be Leinart's workplace. But Sunday morning, they provided a backdrop as the Cardinals' first-round draft choice -- and the eventual successor to starting quarterback Kurt Warner -- was introduced to the local media, one minicam at a time.

Despite the heat, that part was no sweat to Leinart. Named one of People's "100 Most Beautiful People" in the magazine's most recent issue, Leinart spent three years as the cover-boy quarterback for Southern California, hobnobbing with Hollywood celebrities.

For Leinart, the hardest part of the draft came Saturday, as he sat in New York's Radio City Music Hall and watched nine other players stride to the podium before NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue called his name as the 10th overall pick.

"It has been up and down," Leinart said Sunday morning. "I was nervous and stressed all week, and then you are sitting in that green room waiting. My one thing was that I just didn't want to be there last.

"Everything happens for a reason, and I am so excited to be here," said Leinart, who will wear No. 7. "The whole process is very hard and I just want to get back to playing football."

As Leinart squirmed on draft day, Cardinal officials celebrated. They privately hoped that Leinart would still be on the board when their turn came, and that hope became reality when the Tennessee Titans selected Texas quarterback Vince Young with the third overall pick and the next six teams filled needs at other positions.

Just like that, a former Heisman Trophy winner with two national titles on his resume had fallen to the Cardinals.

Coach Dennis Green called Leinart a "gift from heaven."

"I have only said it a couple of other times to top football players and it was true," Green said as he introduced Leinart at club headquarters. "The circumstances and the synergy and the stars get lined up just right, and then you really get something that you really needed."

While the draft unfolded nicely for the Cardinals, it provided a shock for Leinart. But he dismissed suggestions that he cost himself millions by opting to return to USC for his senior season.

Many analysts had pegged Leinart as the first overall pick last spring. With Leinart unavailable, San Francisco selected Utah quarterback Alex Smith with the first pick.

"I have no regrets," Leinart said. "I could have possibly been the No. 1 pick, which was speculation. I was injured (with left elbow surgery).

"Obviously, I would have expected to go higher this year just for obvious reasons, but it doesn't affect me," Leinart said. "I'm just excited to be on a football team. There's no regrets, none whatsoever. When these people say that, I just think it's a joke, personally."

On Sunday, Leinart preferred to look ahead.

"I'm so happy to be out of L.A., you do not even understand it," said Leinart, a native of Orange County. "I've dealt with everything you possibly can in that city. I love it there. But I'm definitely ready. It's time to move on."

The Cardinals, who have been to the playoffs once since they moved to the desert in 1988, say the same thing. And they believe Leinart will take them where they want to go, although it may not happen right away.

For now, Leinart is listed as the Cardinals' second-string quarterback behind Warner, whom the team recently signed through the 2008 season. Leinart will spend the 2006 season toting a clipboard and learning the pro game from the relative safety of the sideline.

That's the plan, at least. The Cardinals' plans have been known to change.

"It's going to be different from what I've been used to the last couple years, but it's a perfect situation for me," said Leinart, who went 37-2 as a starter at USC.

With one playoff victory since 1947, the Cardinals have been called many things, but rarely perfect. Leinart said the club's history didn't concern him.

"I just look at what they have now," Leinart said, referring to star wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald and newly signed running back Edgerrin James. "Obviously, you can look at the past. But the future looks really bright for the Arizona Cardinals."

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press

This story is from ESPN.com's automated news wire. Wire index