The names include: Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, Mark Sanchez. Hell, you can even throw in Matt Cassel and John David Booty to some degree. There’s no question that being the USC quarterback thrusts a young man into the spotlight. Since the low-point in the 90’s, Southern California has been a powerhouse under Pete Carroll.
Predictably, the Trojans have some great QBs on the payroll roster even after losing Mark Sanchez to the NFL. SC has Mitch Mustain (former PARADE HS Player of the Year that transferred from Arkansas), Aaron Corp (highly touted in-state recruit that redshirted in ‘07), and Matt Barkley (top ranked prospect in 2009 by ESPN). Carroll has the luxury of options here and that’s a good thing. Corp recently went down with a left knee injury somewhat opening the door for Barkley and Mustain.
There’s a chance that Barkley could eventually seize the job for good. Barkley was the first freshman quarterback to start at Mater Dei High School since Todd Marinovich. In that span, Matt Leinart passed through the same high school. He was named Gatorade HS Player of the Year before he was even a senior. The position is Barkley’s… at some point in the near future.
The Trojans head coach also affirmed that Mustain was the third quarterback behind both Corp and Barkley. With Corp out, Barkley was given all of the first team snaps. After a scrimmage last week, Pete Carroll had nothing be positive things to say about Barkley. The SC head man said that Barkley had made “tremendous impressions.”
Via OC Register:
LOS ANGELES – USC freshman quarterback Matt Barkley might not have the keys to the Trojans offense quite yet, but it’s clear he is at least in the driver’s seat.
And making himself comfortable.
USC coach Pete Carroll did nothing to diminish the significance of Barkley’s performance in a 72-play scrimmage Friday afternoon.
“All and all this was the big day to see Matt, and Matt handled himself beautifully,” Carroll said.
Barkley, the national high school player of the year at Mater Dei, completed 10 of 17 passes for 120 yards with one touchdown and one interception in his first major test since assuming the top spot on the USC depth chart after Aaron Corp cracked his left fibula. Barkley even put an exclamation mark on the afternoon with a late 8-yard touchdown scamper.
“It opened up wide like the Red Sea,” Barkley said of his TD dash.
If only Mitch Mustain could be as easily moved.
On an afternoon that reflected Barkley’s position on the depth chart and the confidence Carroll and quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates have in him, Mustain showed no signs of going away quietly.
Mustain, a high profile transfer from Arkansas, working with the second- and third-string offenses, completed 14 of 16 passes for 154 yards, 28 of them coming on a touchdown strike to De’Von Flournoy. Mustain completed his first eight passes.
“I’m not here for the hell of it, but it is what it is right now and I’m going to keep fighting for it and make them make the decision,” Mustain said.
But all indications pointed to that decision already being made.
“Anything can happen, but right now he’s still behind Matt and Aaron,” Carroll said.
Even Mustain acknowledged Carroll and his staff have cast their lot with Barkley. Only Barkley worked with the first team offense Friday, and the freshman was given additional reps with the second team as well.
“I think they’ve got something they want to accomplish,” Mustain said. “Matt’s done a good job so they want to keep developing him, and I going to take the reps I get and capitalize on them.”
Said Bates: “Right now Barkley needs all the reps. He’s 18 years old, he’s a freshman. We’re going to give him as many reps as we possibly can. Mitch has had a lot of reps so we feel like we need to get Matt up to speed.”
Barkley made the most of those snaps, taking charge of the team from the opening snap and seeming to grow in confidence as the scrimmage wore on. In third quarter, he connected with David Ausberry for a 19-yard touchdown. Ausberry had three receptions for 73 yards. Flournoy had three catches for 55 yards.
“With the plays we have I would feel comfortable playing a game right now,” Barkley said.
Said Carroll: “All in all he made tremendous impressions here.”
Tags:
aaron corp,
matt barkley,
mitch mustain,
pete carroll,
quarterbacks,
university of southern california,
usc
