Matt Barkley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Matt Barkley | |
|---|---|
| College | Southern California (committed) |
| Conference | Pac-10 |
| Sport | Football |
| Position | QB |
| Jersey # | 5 |
| Class | HS junior |
| Career | 2009 – present |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight | 220 lb (100 kg) |
| Nationality | USA |
| Born | September 8, 1990  Los Angeles, CA |
| High school | Mater Dei High School, Santa Ana, California |
| Career highlights | |
| Awards | |
| 2007 Gatorade National Player of the Year 2007 Glenn Davis Award 2007 Joe Montana Award |
|
Matt Barkley (b. September 8, 1990) is an American football player. He currently starts at quarterback for Mater Dei High School of Santa Ana, California. Barkley was named 2007 Gatorade national player of the year, as the first non-senior to ever been named such.[1] He also won the 2007 Glenn Davis Award, given to best high school football player in Southern California,[2] as well as the inaugural Joe Montana Award as the nation's top high school quarterback.[3]
Barkley passed for 3,576 yards and 35 touchdowns in 2007, completing 63% of his passes with nine interceptions. As a sophomore, he passed for 1,349 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2006. In 2005, he became the first freshman quarterback to start at Mater Dei High School since Todd Marinovich.[4] As a freshman he passed for 1,685 yards and 10 touchdowns, but suffered a season-ending injury (broken collarbone) in the quarterfinals of the playoffs.[5] Impressed by his ability, his high school coach permits him to call his own plays, something he has never allowed a player to do during two decades at Mater Dei.[6] In three seasons, he's passed for 6,594 yards and 57 TDs.[5]
Barkley is rated the top overall prospect in the nation for the Class of 2009 by Rivals.com.[7] Quarterback coach Steve Clarkson described Barkley as a cross between Joe Montana and Tom Brady.[4]
As a top high school player, Barkley was heavily recruited. On January 23, 2008, Barkley verbally committed to the University of Southern California Trojans, ending speculation that he might join UCLA, which had just hired coaches Rick Neuheisel and Norm Chow.[8][9] Barkley had long been a fan of the Trojans; his father, Les Barkley, was an All-American water polo player at USC in the late 1970s.[5] Barkley made his decision more than a year before his National Signing Day, telling his family and coaches and then calling USC coach Pete Carroll on his cell phone. The previous quarterback to go USC from Mater Dei was Matt Leinart.[6]
[edit] Personal
Barkley is a devout Christian and attends a nondenominational congregation; he plays acoustic guitar with a church youth group. He is a fan of Christian rock bands Audio Adrenaline and Third Day as well as U2. His father, Les, in addition to having been a student athlete at USC, co-owns an insurance business with his brother in-law. While he was a student at Mater Dei, Barkley's parents started the Monarchs for Marines (M4M) campaign, where hundreds of Mater Dei students, coaches and parents volunteered to landscape and renovate youth areas on nearby Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. His cousin, Robbie Boyer, is a walk-on at USC.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ Sondheimer, Eric. "Barkley earns Gatorade's national player-of-year honors", Los Angeles Times, 2007-12-14. Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
- ^ Sondheimer, Eric. "Mater Dei's Barkley is The Times' player of the year", Los Angeles Times, 2007-12-26. Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
- ^ "Montana to award Barkley", Daily Pilot, 2007-12-27. Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
- ^ a b Evans, Thayer. "Coveted Quarterback Looks to Thrive on Next Level", New York Times, 2008-02-11. Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
- ^ a b c d Christopher Lawlor, Grounded in faith, Barkley leads the way for Mater Dei, ESPN.com, April 1, 2008.
- ^ a b Arash Markazi, Fully committed, SI.com, February 5, 2008.
- ^ Rivals100: Class of 2009, SI.com (in conjunction with Rivals.com), February 8, 2008.
- ^ Scott Schrader, Matt Barkley Commits To USC, WeAreSC.com, January 23, 2008.
- ^ Sondheimer, Eric. "Barkley gives USC his word", Los Angeles Times, 2008-01-24. Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
[edit] External links
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