True freshman, Matt Barkley, is USC’s only chance of winning. I saw this kid play when he was at Mater Dei in an epic rival competition between super high school champion Concord De Lasalle. When I saw him play as a sophomore, I knew he would be a winner. He had size, confidence, and the often elusive ability to move the chains even when he was young. And if you don’t know who Concord De LaSalle is let me tell you they are a SUPER high school football program in the San Francisco Bay Area. They are located in the East Bay in a city called Concord, CA. I used to live in Concord, CA and did a brief coaching internship there back in the mid 1990′s. I have personally seen Leon and Atari Callen come out of there, DJ Williams, Amani Toomer, and a phenomenal QB Matt Gutierrez. I also see great quarterbacks each year as I work with the Nike Sparq Elite 11 High School combines program.
USC Trojan QB Matt Barkley at Mater Dei High School
Barkley was named 2007 Gatorade national player of the year, as the first non-senior to ever been named such. He also won the 2007 Glenn Davis Award, given to best high school football player in Southern California , as well as the inaugural Joe Montana Award as the nation’s top high school quarterback. Matt Barkley passed for 3,576 yards and 35 touchdowns in 2007, completing 63% of his passes with nine interceptions. In 2005, he became the first freshman quarterback to start at Mater Dei High School since Todd Marinovich. Matt Barkley is rated the top overall prospect in the nation by Rivals.com. On January 23, 2008, Barkley ended all speculation about Norm Chow and UCLA possibly becoming a contender by making his announcement for the USC Trojans.
At any rate, Matt Barkley is one of those players that when you see him play you say “this kid can play”. Simple as that. It’s the greatest compliment that any athlete can receive. More than a trophy. Greater than a $15 Million pay check. More than having tons of fine women and fine cars. The best athletes simply want their peers to say “He/She can ball!”. Nothing less, nothing more. Matt Barkley can play. The most interesting thing is that Matt Barkley does have an extreme lineage of athletic prowess. His father was a water polo player in college. If you don’t think this is athletic, have you ever tried to tread water for about 3 hours in a 10 foot deep pool of water?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgcENk-dLos]
