Matt Barkley, Senior, Quarterback, USC
Overview:
Before Matt Barkley even stepped foot on USC’s campus there was talk about him being the first overall draft pick at some point down the line. That time has come. Barkley was thrown into the fire as a true freshman in 2009 and performed admirably. He won the starting job in the spring and showed off his strong arm and his immense potential. On the year he only completed 59.9 percent of his passes and he nearly threw as many interceptions as touchdowns, but the potential was there for Barkley to turn into the next great Trojan quarterback.
In 2010 USC had a disappointing season, but Barkley increased his production and efficiency. His pass completion percentage shot up to 62.6 percent and his interception total dropped from 14 to 12. In the meantime he threw for 26 touchdown passes and rushed for a couple more.
Final Projection:
The problems surrounding USC have limited Barkley’s national exposure to a certain degree. With players like Andrew Luck hogging the quarterback spotlight out West, Barkley is not gaining as much attention as he was coming out of high school. However, that will not mean anything to the NFL. He still has a great arm and tremendous instincts and should be a superb NFL quarterback.
12/7/2012 Update by Dan Levine:
Barkley did not have the season he would have liked to have in his senior year. He did not exactly show off for the NFL scouts. He threw the most interceptions of his career (15) and USC’s record is tied for the least amount of wins with Barkley at quarterback. Had he come out last year, even with all of the hype surrounding Andrew Luck, Barkley would have made a play for the No. 1 overall pick. As it stands, a lot of prognosticators have dropped Barkley a little bit. Whether they have lost confidence in his ability to accurately throw the ball down field or make smart decisions, he is no longer the star of the draft. Still, he remains a high prospect and probably the best quarterback coming out. He still stands to be selected in the top-5 in April.
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