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Nation's top receiving corps USC Trojans
Key receivers: Marqise Lee, Robert Woods
The Trojans were atop our list of the country's best running games on Monday. Well, with Matt Barkley and a pair of All-Americans at receiver, they throw it better than they run it. That's among the reasons why they're a preseason favorite in many pundits' minds.
Woods had a strong freshman year, catching 65 passes for 792 yards, when he was joined last season by Lee to provide Barkley with essentially two No. 1s. The combined damage the two inflicted on defenses last season: 184 catches, 2,435 yards and 26 touchdowns. Each surpassed 1,000 yards. Neither Woods (6-foot-1, 190 pounds) nor Lee (6-foot, 195 pounds) is beastly, but they're subtly strong and they have knacks for getting open regardless of the coverage they're facing.
Coach Lane Kiffin is like you; he marvels at the ability of Woods and Lee, but he wonders what's beyond them, in terms of depth. That's something of a recurring theme in Kiffin's mind, given USC's scholarship-depleted roster.
George Farmer, ESPN's top receiver in the 2011 recruiting class, struggled to make an impact as a freshman (catching just four passes for 42 yards), but his time could be now. Any progress in the spring was curtailed by a hamstring injury, but that allowed for junior De'Von Flournoy to turn Kiffin's head. Where the Trojans have some enviable depth is at tight end, where Xavier Grimble and Randall Telfer are both NFL prospects.
Kiffin has said highly regarded freshman Nelson Agholor will be considered a running back, but that doesn't mean he can't move around a la Percy Harvin while he was at Florida.
USA Today's 2012 Coaches Pre-Season Poll
Top player countdown
20. WR Marqise Lee, USC
Particulars: 6-0/195, Soph.; Gardena (Calif.) Junipero Serra
Buzz: Even though fellow WR Robert Woods put up big numbers as well, Lee exploded on the scene for the Trojans last season. Lee had 73 receptions for 1,143 yards (an average of 15.7 yards per catch) and 11 TDs. Lee had 13 receptions that covered at least 30 yards, the most for any returning player nationally. His 11 TD catches were the second-most nationally by a freshman in 2011, and 10 of his 11 TD catches covered at least 24 yards. Lee also was dangerous as a kick returner last season.
USC chasing a dream
USC 2012 Schedule
USC Trojans Returning starting OL: 4
Lead rusher: Curtis McNeal
All the talk surrounding the USC running game is whether they'll be adding Silas Redd of Penn State before the start of the season. But the reason the Trojans are here isn't all about the depth, or lack thereof, at running back. You need to start up front. The Trojans will miss All-American left tackle Matt Kalil, but they do have four returning offensive linemen (including an Outland Award watch candidate in center Khaled Holmes). This for a unit that, very quietly, was very good in 2011. The Trojans trailed only Oregon and Stanford in terms of ground efficiency in the Pac-12 last year, and return more.
They also have Robert Woods, who is known as the best workhorse wideout in college football but is also quite adept at walling off defenders. Check out this 61-yard touchdown run that McNeal tallied against Stanford last year. Woods starts off by blocking the cornerback, but McNeal makes a cut to the outside that leads the safety in Woods' direction.
At that point, most wideouts would just try to get in the way of one of the defenders, but Woods went one step further by disengaging the cornerback and placing a snotbubble block on the safety.
What makes this play stand out even more is how McNeal set up the block. He was able to quickly and accurately assess that Woods' block was creating an outside line that he could cut back behind that would wall the safety off. Very few rushers can execute that type of decision-making on the fly and even fewer have the physical skills to execute them as fast as McNeal can. DJ Morgan should also play a key role, and will be more explosive in 2012. USC might have the best passing game in the country, which will only force defenses to pick their poison, potentially making the run game that much more effective.
USC Trojans Key receivers: Marqise Lee, Robert Woods
The Trojans were atop our list of the country's best running games on Monday. Well, with Matt Barkley and a pair of All-Americans at receiver, they throw it better than they run it. That's among the reasons why they're a preseason favorite in many pundits' minds.
Woods had a strong freshman year, catching 65 passes for 792 yards, when he was joined last season by Lee to provide Barkley with essentially two No. 1s. The combined damage the two inflicted on defenses last season: 184 catches, 2,435 yards and 26 touchdowns. Each surpassed 1,000 yards. Neither Woods (6-foot-1, 190 pounds) nor Lee (6-foot, 195 pounds) is beastly, but they're subtly strong and they have knacks for getting open regardless of the coverage they're facing.
Coach Lane Kiffin is like you; he marvels at the ability of Woods and Lee, but he wonders what's beyond them, in terms of depth. That's something of a recurring theme in Kiffin's mind, given USC's scholarship-depleted roster.
George Farmer, ESPN's top receiver in the 2011 recruiting class, struggled to make an impact as a freshman (catching just four passes for 42 yards), but his time could be now. Any progress in the spring was curtailed by a hamstring injury, but that allowed for junior De'Von Flournoy to turn Kiffin's head. Where the Trojans have some enviable depth is at tight end, where Xavier Grimble and Randall Telfer are both NFL prospects.
Kiffin has said highly regarded freshman Nelson Agholor will be considered a running back, but that doesn't mean he can't move around a la Percy Harvin while he was at Florida
top 10 collegiate quarterbacks,
given how different schemes and quality of competition can be across conferences in college football. I considered two major questions in coming up with this ranking:
1.) How successful will this QB be on the field this season, both individually and in leading his team in the conference and national title races? (A passer's track record to this point in his college career played a big part in this.)
2.) Where does this QB stand in terms of realizing his dreams of playing in the NFL?
While the first point here should be pretty self-explanatory, I'll go into more detail for the second. This is by no means a pure pro prospect ranking, it's just that many of the skills that the NFL looks for in its quarterbacks are essential on the college level as well (that's why I reached out to some NFL personnel as I put together this list). For quarterbacks like the Michigan Wolverines' Denard Robinson and Kansas State Wildcats' Collin Klein, a couple of notable "snubs" from this list, their lack of elite throwing ability limits their offenses, despite their dynamic running skills.
That said, as the season progresses, this list (I'll be checking in with regular updates) will change based on the development, success and failure of both the QBs who made the preseason cut, and others who emerge. So don't be shocked if a future NFL receiver like Robinson or a talented player years away from his NFL shot like Braxton Miller enters the fold.
Here are my QB rankings heading into the 2012 season:
http://insider.espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8225399/ranking-matt-barkley-logan-thomas-nation-top-quarterbacks-ncf
1. Matt Barkley, Senior, USC Trojans
Barkley is the unquestioned franchise quarterback of this group. He made improvements in the critical areas that Lane Kiffin challenged him in heading into last season: efficiency in the red zone and on third downs, and controlling his emotions in the big moments.
I have made two trips to Los Angeles this offseason to sit down with Barkley, and each time I am more and more impressed by one thing in particular: his lack of satisfaction. Barkley continues to refine his fundamentals, working to keep his body balanced, and shoulders on plane throughout his drop and movement throws.
The questions will come in February next year at the combine when his height (a little taller than 6-foot-1) and hand size will be scrutinized. Accomplishing what Andrew Luck and Sam Bradford couldn't in recent years -- coming back to school and winning it all -- would erase any doubts of his physical limitations and cement him as the No. 1 pick next April. And given his supporting cast at USC, he's got a good chance to do it.
2. Logan Thomas, Junior, Virginia Tech Hokies
Part condor and part rifleman, Thomas is a physical specimen. One NFL executive compared Thomas on film to the Buccaneers' Josh Freeman, and it is clear to see why: He has an effortless motion, enormous hands that engulf the pigskin and the size and strength to repel would-be attackers.
Expectations are high for Thomas and his progress, and he must fully understand that the Hokies will go as far as he can elevate them in big games. A season ago, Thomas threw just one touchdown to four interceptions in the Hokies' three losses. With only three starters returning to the offensive group this season, the burden of responsibility will fall even more significantly upon Thomas' broad shoulders.
Thomas has Cam Newton-like strength and arm talent, and now he needs the former Heisman Trophy winner's fourth-quarter impact and third-down passing efficiency (Thomas completed only 49.1 percent of his passes on third down in 2011, with a passer rating of just 127.15, according to CFBStats.com). Thomas has the measurables the next level covets, and rest assured the NFL will be watching him intensely in 2012.
3. Tyler Wilson, Senior, Arkansas Razorbacks
In many ways, Wilson is very similar to Barkley; in fact, the two roomed together at the recent Manning Passing Academy. Wilson is also a little shorter than 6-2, but, like Barkley, he will be prototypically sound in his fundamentals and delivery at the combine next February.
Wilson's arm is not overpowering like his predecessor Ryan Mallett, but Wilson's touch and accuracy offset any velocity issues. Wilson will have an incredible opportunity to be the face and steadying force of Arkansas football this fall (think Lieutenant Dan in Forrest Gump screaming, "You call this a storm?!") after a dysfunctional offseason for the program.
LSU and Alabama travel to Fayetteville, but difficult road tests at Auburn and South Carolina will give him the opportunity to improve a suspect road resume from last season. How he performs in those four games may be the difference between him landing in the first or third round in next April's draft -- and whether or not the Razorbacks can finally edge past the Tide and Tigers in the SEC West.
4. Landry Jones, Senior, Oklahoma Sooners
Jones has prototypical size and put up immense production the past three seasons in Norman with more than 12,000 yards passing and more than 90 touchdowns. However, Jones must prove he can overcome adverse situations. When receiver Ryan Broyles went down last season with a knee injury, so did the Sooners in many ways. Jones threw just one touchdown pass in his last three regular-season games, while tossing five interceptions.
He went to work this offseason with QB fundamental guru George Whitfield (trainer of Newton and Luck) to refine his footwork and in-pocket mechanics. Jones must elevate the confidence and play of wide receivers Kenny Stills and freshman Trey Metoyer, and the two pass-catchers may need to do the same for the physically tough senior signal-caller.
Scouts and NFL executives want to believe the top-five grade they once had on Jones was no mirage. With time dwindling in his Sooners career, marquee wins in pressurized moments (versus Texas, versus Notre Dame, at West Virginia) will prove those execs right.
5. Geno Smith, Senior, West Virginia Mountaineers
Unlike many of the gunslingers that Dana Holgorsen has groomed over the years (Case Keenum, Graham Harrell, Cody Hodges), Smith has next-level size and arm strength. However, like so many of Holgorsen's passers, Smith stuffed the stat sheet last season with 31 touchdown passes and a finale performance versus Clemson that simply got silly.
Smith's numbers should increase in 2012, and the visibility of the Big 12 conference will help as well. Like many of his peers on this list, his ability to "will" his team to wins in big games will significantly affect his stock on this list. A season ago, losses to Syracuse and Rutgers diminished the Mountaineers' national relevance. Keep an eye on trap games against Iowa State and Texas Tech this season, and whether West Virginia learned its lessons and has the maturity to be a legit national title contender.
6. Tyler Bray, Junior, Tennessee Volunteers
Like it is with a 98-mph fastball pitcher, it is simply fun to watch Bray throw. His spindly frame is concerning over the long term, but the California kid fits that scouting mold of "making every throw" as well as any player on this list.
Bray needs to add a sense of urgency to his game, not just in his footwork within the pocket and out of it, but at times with the tempo in which he plays. Thrown into the fire before he was mature enough to handle it, Bray has endured the ups and downs of the position in the incredibly demanding SEC.
Outside of USC, the Volunteers have the best wide receiving corps in college football, and if Bray can stay upright, he has a chance to showcase his big arm with shots all over the field. A stretch of road games at Georgia, Mississippi State and South Carolina are sandwiched around Alabama in a four-week October stretch that will define Bray's and Derek Dooley's career at Tennessee. Bray feels like a boom-or-bust player this season, with small odds of anything in between.
7. Mike Glennon, Senior, North Carolina State Wolfpack
There is a reason head coach Tom O'Brien let Russell Wilson take his talents to Madison (only to set college football's single-season efficiency record), and that reason is the 6-5 Glennon. He is much more of a facilitator than creator, but for his next-level prowess, Glennon must continue to develop his playmaking abilities when in the pocket and when plays break down.
One executive says Glennon's highlight tape may have a first-round grade, but the challenge is that the lowlight tape brings his stock to the middle rounds. Glennon played his best football as last season ended, winning his final three starts while throwing 11 touchdowns and just two interceptions, providing hope that 2012 could be a breakout season.
Offensive coordinator Dana Bible's pro-style system has benefited Glennon's development, and a run game that produces better than its 109th national ranking last season would help even more. Expect plenty of pro personnel to be on hand in Week 1 when Tyler Bray and Tennessee take on NC State in Atlanta, and expect even more if the Wolfpack are 5-0 when Florida State (and our next QB on this list) comes to town in early October.
8. EJ Manuel, Senior, Florida State Seminoles
Manuel is an NFL combine dream -- tremendously gifted and can look as pretty as anyone under center. However, the bottom line is there can be no more excuses for Manuel and Florida State in 2012. The Noles have a very soft start with Murray State, Savannah State and Wake Forest all at home before Clemson visits in late September. The schedule should allow Manuel to get into a rhythm, an area of struggle a season ago when he was sacked 33 times, the ninth-highest total of any starting quarterback in 2011.
Like many on this list, Manuel doesn't lack in gifts and arm talent, but what he hasn't been able to do is consistently play at an elite level. With 24 touchdowns to 18 interceptions in his career, it is time for the former blue-chip recruit to take the next step.
9. AJ McCarron, Junior, Alabama Crimson Tide
When history looks back on the Alabama national championship season of 2011, the story will be the Crimson Tide's overwhelming defense, as it should be. The guy under center, however, deserves some credit as a first-year starter who played his best ball on the biggest stage.
McCarron is the antithesis of most on this list and won't win throwing contests centered around RPMs and distance downfield. He will win on an instinctual level, and he will have a chance to play for another title this fall.
New offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier will ask McCarron to protect the ball (just five interceptions in 328 attempts in '11), avoid sacks (just 13 a season ago) while also taking more shots downfield as an experienced junior. Under Nick Saban, the identity of Alabama football will always be centered on the defense, but McCarron should provide more backbone and charisma than Saban has previously had from his quarterbacks in Tuscaloosa.
10. Casey Pachall, Junior, TCU Horned Frogs
The 12th-most efficient passer in college football a season ago is in many ways very similar to Smith, the other quarterback joining the Big 12 next month: tall, athletic, edgy and highly competitive.
After four-year starter and clean-cut redhead Andy Dalton moved on to the NFL, in stepped the tattooed, hair-on-fire Pachall. He immediately filled the void by throwing for 2,900 yards, 25 touchdowns and just seven picks, and he directed one monumental win on the blue turf in Boise, where he had a career-best 473 yards and five touchdowns.
The release could be a little quicker and shorter, and the fundamentals, at times, get out of whack, but the redshirt junior has a swagger that should only grow with more success and experience. There is no reason that he and the Horned Frogs shouldn't make considerable noise in their new digs (especially given their soft early-season schedule).
College football preseason Top 25: Sporting News' take on the best
http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2012-07-30/college-football-preseason-top-25-rankings-sporting-news-lsu-alabama-usc?eadid=EL/SICOM&sct=cf_t11_a3
#2 USC Trojans
Matt Barkley and All-American safety T.J. McDonald both stayed at USC rather than leave early for NFL riches, and now they have a very real shot at playing for it all. Considering how well USC played last season, when the Trojans weren’t even eligible for postseason play, Barkley and McDonald just might find it was worth it.
Coach Lane Kiffin is knocking on the door of a BCS national championship in only his third year. It’s a remarkable feat, especially considering the ramifications of NCAA sanctions the program is dealing with. But who can complain when you have receivers like Robert Woods and Marqise Lee? Defensive end Devon Kennard is likely done for the season after a weight room injury, and there are depth problems. But if USC can hold onto its core group of players, this could be a special season.
Lifelong Trojan Barkley aims for dream end to trying USC career
LOS ANGELES -- On the videotape made as a 60th birthday greeting for his grandmother, an 8-year-old Matt Barkley stares into the camera and declares: "In college, I'll be the quarterback for 'SC. If you can come to every game, I'd like you to. You will see some really good passes from me, and touchdowns."
The golden-haired Orange County kid proved a prophet. Groomed for the job as a four-year starter at high school powerhouse Mater Dei, Barkley did in fact become the quarterback at USC. Through three seasons he completed some really good passes (64.3 percent of them) and a whole bunch of touchdowns (80). But the 8-year-old Barkley could never have envisioned the other stuff: the savior coach who made him the school's first opening day true freshman starter bolting for the NFL after Barkley's freshman season; the Trojans slipping from their perch of seven consecutive BCS trips to the Emerald Bowl; the NCAA nailing the program with some of the harshest sanctions of the past two decades, thereby denying Barkley postseason opportunities his sophomore and junior years.
In the blink of one October night at Notre Dame, however, that two-and-a-half year narrative swiftly changed. USC's 2011 season had begun with ugly wins over Minnesota and Utah and a 43-22 loss at Arizona State, and at the midway point USC was an uninspiring 5-1 team. Barkley, pegged as a surefire first-rounder before he ever donned the cardinal and gold, wasn't on any Heisman lists. But in South Bend, the nine-point underdog Trojans ruined their rivals' first primetime home game in 21 years with a 31-17 upset. A team hampered by youth and attrition for most of Barkley's career finally clicked. "That mojo -- we had it," said Barkley. "We were having fun out there."
After notching at least 40 points in four of its last fives games, ruining Oregon's national title hopes with an upset at Autzen Stadium and crushing crosstown rival UCLA 50-0 in its season finale, USC made its way back into the final top 10 last season. Barkley finished with a Pac-12 record 39 touchdowns to just seven interceptions, narrowly missing an invite to New York. Former coach Pete Carroll initially cranked up the quarterback's hype machine the week of Barkley's first start in September 2009 by declaring: "He's so far ahead of the curve, that it's hard to predict what he's going to be able to do." Three years later, current coach Lane Kiffin says Barkley "has the potential to be the greatest Trojan ever." The storybook that began 13 years earlier was finally heading toward a happy ending, as talk around the nation turned to a possible national championship run in 2012. But first, Barkley had to turn down a potential top five NFL draft selection.
For much of that 2011 campaign, Kiffin assumed his 6-foot-2, 230-pound quarterback would bolt. "Right after we played UCLA I was on an emotional high and ... I thought for sure I was going to the NFL," Barkley said. But as the Trojans got a taste over those final six games of what a season with a talented team and no postseason restrictions might feel like, Kiffin began to sense his cherubic quarterback might deliver a Christmas surprise. "In the locker room after the game he'd have that smile on his face," said Kiffin. "I just felt like, you know what? He's not going to give this up."
At a nationally televised Dec. 22 press conference Barkley, flanked by the Song Girls and the marching band, stood in the lobby of Heritage Hall and announced his decision to return to USC. It's hard to imagine he ever could have left.
*****
Coming off a 39-touchdown campaign, Matt Barkley will look to lead USC to Pac-12 and national titles in 2012.
Peter Read Miller/SI
On a sunny afternoon this April, a smiling Barkley walked down the steps of Heritage Hall to join the cascade of students and backpacks bustling across USC's campus. Barkley had two hours to kill before his next class and intended to return to his off-campus apartment before realizing he didn't have his keys. A quick call revealed his roommate wasn't home, either. "The little things in life," Barkley said. "You've just got to smile." He turned and headed in the opposite direction and ran into his sister, Lainy, a USC freshman, walking with one of her friends. They stopped to chat. Less than a minute after Barkley resumed walking: "Hey, there's my brother. What do you know?" Sam, a freshman hurdler, walked by.
Barkley eventually arrived at the Ronald Tutor Campus Center, where students cram around picnic tables in the courtyard outside the building. "Matt! Matt!" two female students yelled to catch his attention. "Fight On!" one of them shouted. "Matt! Matt!" came a male voice from nearby. It was one of the Trojans' backup receivers mimicking the girls before him. "He's the golden boy," said USC's All-America receiver Robert Woods. "That's what he is."
Finally, Barkley climbed a set of stairs and found privacy in a quiet two-seat booth tucked into a shaded alcove, where he pulled a wrapped turkey ciabatta sandwich from his backpack. Though presently wearing a comfortable white T-shirt, Barkley, who carries a 3.21 GPA, spent the morning in a white tuxedo tail, complete with the cane, as part of his initiation into Skull and Dagger, a 25-person honor society comprised of select USC seniors. The night before he participated in the society's annual prank, in which inductees covered every public toilet on campus with a garbage bag and "Out of Order" sign. A night earlier Barkley spoke at an academic panel entitled Communicating with the Media. The following night he would attend a dinner at the house of former Skull and Dagger member Pat Haden, now USC's athletic director. "He's just a normal student here," said Haden, quarterback for the Trojans' 1974 national title team and a former Rhodes Scholar. "Which is as it should be, in my mind."
Barkley's 59,000 Twitter followers often know exactly what he's up to. "Here at LA Live 'bout to get my socks rocked by @NEEDTOBREATHE," he wrote of his favorite band prior to a March 20 concert. The Southern rock group's guitarist recognized Barkley at an earlier show and they swapped contact info afterward. "Any Android users new to Instagram? Lets swap cool, artsy, filter-filled photos!" That one was tongue-and-cheek ("I'm not artsy," Barkley said), though he frequently uses the app on photos he tweets, like the one of Barkley and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak flashing the USC Victory sign. A Valentine's Day picture with Barkley's girlfriend, University of Seattle soccer player Brittany Langdon, made the blogosphere rounds.
A self-described tech geek, Barkley began playing with his father's discarded laptop as a child and, in the fifth grade, requested the first-ever iPod for Christmas. Now Barkley watches online video courses to teach himself Flash, and he helped USC's sports information department develop a forthcoming Heisman promo app for iPhones and Androids. Barkley recently found a new way to combine his affinity for both music and computers: "He's got a little flare for DJ'ing now," said Trojans center Khaled Holmes, Barkley's friend since the sixth grade. Attendees at Sigma Chi's spring Derby Day party were surprised to see the star quarterback behind the DJ table. "It's the coolest thing," said Barkley. "You're feeling the beat, you're looking out at the crowd and people are bouncing up and down, hands in the air."
Yet this daily dish of campus frivolity is not the overriding reason Barkley put off the so-called No Fun League for a year. "I've had enough social time in college to be fine with moving on," Barkley said. It's more a matter of the fun he missed out on the past two years. "If USC hadn't had the adversity and sanctions," said Barkley's father, Les, "he absolutely would have left for the NFL."
*****
Barkley, then 19, became USC's spokesman on June 10, 2010, in the wake of severe NCAA sanctions against the program.
AP
On June 10, 2010, Barkley, then 19, stood in the lobby of Heritage Hall, surrounded by reporters and television cameras there to capture his reaction to that day's stunning news. Following a four-year investigation into extra benefits received by former star Reggie Bush and his family, the NCAA's Committee on Infractions had levied several severe penalties against USC, including scholarship reductions and, most painfully, a two-year postseason ban. Barkley had completed his freshman season, in which the Trojans slid from 12-1 to 9-4, and Carroll's former assistant, Kiffin, had returned from Tennessee just five months earlier to take over as coach. Embattled Athletic Director Mike Garrett was down to his final days, and longtime university president Steven Sample was about to retire. USC trotted out two figures in front of the cameras that day: Kiffin and the rising-sophomore quarterback. "I was kind of pushed into being the spokesman for the university," Barkley said. "I wasn't comfortable with that. I didn't really like speaking in front of people. That moment brought me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to be that voice the team and the university needed."
Normally a football team takes cues from its senior leaders, but from the time of the sanctions, USC football revolved around its perpetually sunny quarterback. "He's so positive," said Kiffin. "For example, he knows I don't like rain. I don't like being cold. ... It started raining one day [at practice], and he sees the look on my face, and he's like, 'Hey, this is great. It could be raining when we go up to Eugene.' That's just how he thinks." Prior to a 2010 home game against heavily favored Oregon, Barkley took to Twitter to fire up his teammates. He'd just watched a UFC fight in which star Brock Lesnar lost to a lesser-known foe. "Wow, Brock just got rocked! Lesnar is to Oregon as Velasquez is to SC. Lezgo." The Trojans lost 53-32, however, en route to an 8-5 season. It wouldn't be the last time Barkley caused a mini-controversy with his candor. Last year he caught flak for calling Arizona State linebacker Vontaze Bufict a "dirty player" the week before USC's game in Tempe. "If you know Matt, it's hard to get mad at him for doing that because he's not trying to be negative," said Kiffin. "You just ask him a question and his honest answer comes out. And you can't ask him something that's going to question his faith and get a politically correct answer, because he's not going to put the politically correct answer over what he believes."
Such was the case in February 2011 when Barkley re-tweeted a Yahoo! headline about the government upholding same-sex marriage laws and added "Smh" -- as in "shaking my head." Barkley is a devout Christian but does not usually espouse his beliefs without prompting. "I don't think it should be shoved down people's throats," Barkley said. "I do stand strong in what I believe and firmly in it, but I don't think it's my job to convince or convert you. If I live a life that makes a difference or makes you notice something about me, then I think that's enough." That same-sex marriage tweet garnered numerous responses from fans calling Barkley a homophobe, to which he initially responded before realizing doing so was futile. He's been more cautious since. "I don't mind the criticism for saying what I believe, but at the same time you don't want to come across as 'I'm right and you're wrong.'"
Barkley and his family have taken numerous missionary trips abroad, and the silver lining in USC's bowl ban was the ability to take a December 2010 trip to Nigeria. Joining the Barkley family was punter Kyle Negrete, a close friend who bonded with Barkley over their shared faith (they conduct a Tuesday night bible study). "As Matt would say, that was a tremendous blessing in disguise," said Negrete. "Instead of this 20-year-old kid who wants to be in the spotlight, [playing] in these big bowl games on national television, we're out in Nigeria at an orphanage being able to minister to a lot of people that are less fortunate than we are. That is what represents Matt Barkley."
When word got out that the Les Barkley was planning another trip last spring, this time to earthquake-ravaged Haiti, other teammates began asking if they could come. Matt had a hard time telling anyone no. All told, 16 Trojans -- including stars Woods, Holmes, safety T.J. McDonald and defensive end Devon Kennard -- spent their lone week off in May building houses and playing with kids. Had his decision been different last December, Barkley might have been at mini-camp in Cleveland instead.
*****
Barkley thrilled USC fans with his Dec. 22, 2011, announcement that he would forgo the NFL draft to return for his senior season.
ZUMAPRESS
"He was always ready [for the NFL]," Kiffin, the former Oakland Raiders head coach, said of his quarterback. Thanks in part to the emergence of ultra-talented freshman receiver Marqise Lee to complement Woods, Barkley's production last year -- 69.1 percent completions for 3,528 yards, 39 touchdowns and seven interceptions -- exceeded that of former USC top 10 draft picks Carson Palmer (2001), Matt Leinart (2004) and Mark Sanchez (2008) during their respective junior seasons. During ESPN's 2009 NFL Draft coverage, Mel Kiper proclaimed: "[In] three years Matt Barkley -- who will be a true freshman this year -- will be the No. 1 pick in the draft." That was before the debuts of Barkley and Stanford's Andrew Luck, who rose to become not only the 2011 draft's No. 1 pick but to earn the label as the next Peyton Manning. Barkley "is not going to be considered in that same breath, but he won't be far behind," said SI.com draft analyst Tony Pauline.
Next year, "he'll be one of the top three players," said Pauline. "He could be the [No. 1 pick] if he has a good season and the team that has the top pick needs a quarterback." While conceding Barkley lacks a rocket arm or the NFL's preferred height, scouts love his decision-making, poise and accuracy. They appreciate the way he places passes with such precision that only his receivers can catch them. "The fact he's got very good receivers around him is an added bonus, but [scouts] are going to look at his pass placement," said Pauline.
Of course, coming back for another year doesn't guarantee a quarterback will maintain his high stock. Leinart, for one, fell from the projected No. 1 pick in 2004 to No. 10 in 2005. Some aren't even waiting until 2013 to drum up the backlash. "USC fans are going to kill me for this," ESPN's Todd McShay said in mid-April. "... [Ryan] Tannehill has better tools than Matt Barkley." "... #USC QB Matt Barkley is grossly overrated," tweeted ProFootballTalk.com writer Evan Silva. "Great decision maker. Not No. 1-pick arm or athlete. Not even close." Arkansas' Tyler Wilson, Georgia's Aaron Murray and Tennessee's Tyler Bray are mentioned as quarterbacks who could supplant Barkley. Regardless of physical skills, Kiffin believes Barkley will dazzle teams in interviews when they find out he is, literally, a choirboy. (He plays guitar.) "There's a Tebow-ish to it," said Kiffin. "When you meet him and you're around him, you will want to draft him because he has everything together."
And in the event that football doesn't work out, Barkley is already exploring other options. "It's part of my life that I love and cherish and hopefully make me financially stable for the rest of my life, but it's not going to last forever," Barkley said. With help from Haden's connections, Barkley has met with several prominent USC alums in the business world, including Silicon Valley venture capitalist Mark Stevens. "He is very articulate and very impressive," said Stevens, whose firm, Sequoia Capital, helped fund Google and Yahoo! as start-ups. "I could see Matt as the CEO of a company some day." First, Barkley must complete his degree this fall -- and play his senior season.
Sitting in his Heritage Hall office, one floor up from a lobby full of trophies won by USC greats like Frank Gifford, Ronnie Lott, Marcus Allen and Troy Polamalu, Haden was asked whether Barkley -- 27-9 as a starter -- could really finish his career as the "greatest Trojan ever." Haden, who's been associated with USC football for 40 years, replied: "Absolutely no doubt about it." Barkley's legacy, he said, will be about more than touchdowns or victories. "I think the love that those of us who care so much about USC have for him," said Haden, "is that he came back in this time of need."
How could he not? It's what the 8-year-old Barkley always wanted.
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/stewart_mandel/08/02/matt-barkley-usc-trojans/index.html#ixzz22QgNSy9L
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/stewart_mandel/08/02/matt-barkley-usc-trojans/index.html#ixzz22QgF12RU
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/stewart_mandel/08/02/matt-barkley-usc-trojans/index.html?sct=cf_t11_a0
2013 College Football Recruiting Rankings
USC - 2012 Preview
http://www.athlonsports.com/college-football/top-25/usc-trojans-2012
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