http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4426998 LOS ANGELES -- Freshman Matt Barkley was named No. 4 Southern California's starting quarterback on Thursday. With an outstanding performance at training camp, Barkley beat out sophomore Aaron Corp to get the start in the Trojans' season opener against San Jose State at the Coliseum on Sept. 5. Coach Pete Carroll unexpectedly announced his decision several hours before practice and two days before USC's mock game. "He has exceeded all our expectations," Carroll said in a statement. "He has all the physical ability. He has the mentality and temperament to handle the position. His personality is very well received by all the players, and he's extremely talented. At this point, he's ready to be the guy for us." Barkley was perhaps the nation's most sought-after football recruit last year at Orange County's Mater Dei High School, the alma mater of fellow USC quarterback Matt Leinart. After choosing the Trojans, Barkley graduated from high school one semester early to participate in spring practice. Corp, in his third year at USC, was named the Trojans' starter out of spring ball, but Barkley took advantage when Corp missed two weeks of workouts this month after breaking a small bone below his left knee Aug. 10. Barkley is thought to be the first non-redshirt freshman quarterback to be picked to start a season opener for the Trojans. "He's the starting quarterback at USC -- it's not a one-game deal," Carroll said. "He seized the opportunity that was in front of him and took control. He deserves all the credit in the world, and we expect nothing but great things from him." Barkley also beat out Mitch Mustain, the former Arkansas starter who played eight games as Mark Sanchez's backup last season. Sanchez, now the New York Jets' starting quarterback, left USC with a year of eligibility remaining, a decision that initially bothered Carroll and set off the three-way competition. Barkley was named the Gatorade High School National Football Player of the Year for the 2007-08 season. The last five winners of this award have combined for just eight starts and 160 pass attempts in their college careers. Mustain won the award for the 2005-06 season. Now Barkley must shoulder the enormous expectations of his position at USC. He's following nearly a decade of outstanding college quarterbacks, including Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Leinart, along with John David Booty and Sanchez. USC opens the run for its eighth consecutive Pac-10 title next weekend against the Spartans before Barkley's ultimate early test: a trip to Columbus to face No. 6 Ohio State on Sept. 12. Corp returned to full-speed practice Tuesday while wearing a knee brace, but Carroll said he will have a limited role in Saturday's camp-ending scrimmage. "Aaron has done a marvelous job of getting back from his injury," Carroll said. "By next Saturday, we'd expect him to be ready to play if needed, but he's not ready yet. The competition will continue at this position, but at this point, Barkley is our starting quarterback."
I watched some of his games on Directv last year and I came away rather impressed. But, I do wash that a bit with the fact that he plays for a nationally ranked powerhouse team who could probably win with me at QB.
Barkely looks like the second coming of Carson Palmer. Notre Dame better take advantage of him being a frosh this year because they'll be hard pressed to beat USC as he develops.
I'm not saying it factored into Carroll's decision, but there was a significant amount of pressure from the USC boosters and fans to immediately give the reins to Barkley, and quite a bit of dissent when Corp appeared to have the job.
What a joke he has turned into....#1 recruit out of HS, go to your home state school, transfer and you can't even make second string. I'll never understand why a kid like that would transfer to a school where you may never play. He should have gone BCS Subdivision or a smaller school in FBS and he probably would be starting....either that or he really sucks.
He thought he was the greatest thing ever, turns out that he just didn't have what it takes to compete with talented guys that just wanted it more. He'd be smart to leave now before it's too late, sit the year, and start for his senior season at some mediocre team. I'm sure there are teams with senior QBs out there that wouldn't mind a stop gap that was once the best HS prospect in the country. Unless he just doesn't want to play football any more, which could be possible after all the pressure placed on him when he was younger.
It's one thing if you are going to transfer because you don't like the coach or your PT or whatever but he didn't exactly transfer from Texas or Florida. I'm not knocking the Razorbacks but there was a reason he didn't get a whole lot of PT his freshman year. Like I said he should have transfered to a place like UAB or SMU or a less than fantastic major conference team like Virginia or Baylor. He would have been a star at those schools.
The Arky situation was because Nutt's wife trash talked him to a bunch of alumni contributors after a practice. It's also part of the reason they ran him out of town. Now, Ole Miss has one of the best coaches in the SEC, and Arky will continue to battle for mediocrity and recognition. Lol@Petrino
I don't know if Arkansas is as bad as you think they are, they are getting Mallet who has a good arm. Trust me, I dont like to admit that Arkansas is better than people expect
+1 more. With his talent, and the talent surrounding him, it shouldn't be too difficult for him to pull that in.
Exactly. This kid has #1 overall pick written all over him... I pay pretty close attention to recruiting and Steve Clarkson said that Barkley is a mix between Tom Brady and Joe Montana. Clarkson is the best QB coach in the country...
I worked for Steve Clarkson's coaching academy, and of all the great quarterbacks that he's coached, a lot of the people that worked there thought Barkley was right at the top. Whenever we promoted an event, Barkley was one of, if not the first name that was mentioned.
Nice. That was probably a great experience. It's going to be fun watching Matt Barkley evolve into the best quarterback in the country.
