Barkley excited about latest offer
It seems before he even took his first varsity snap his freshman year at Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei, there were already whispers that quarterback Matt Barkley was destined to play for USC. That may have become more of a reality after the signal caller picked up an offer from the Trojans on Wednesday.
Barkley, 6-2.5, 220 pounds is still just a sophomore but has already established himself as one of the premier quarterbacks in the West region. He earned all-state underclass honors a year ago and had a great showing at the recent NorCal NIKE Camp at Stanford.
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Heading in to the camp, Barkley already held offers from Colorado, Florida State and Stanford and picked up offers from Cal and Washington shortly after the event.
On Wednesday, Barkley picked up offer No. 6 from his childhood favorite, the USC Trojans.
"Coach Carroll and Coach Holt visited our campus on Tuesday," Barkley said. "Coach Rollinson told me I needed to go take an unofficial visit to USC to meet with the coaches so on Wednesday, I went down with my parents.
"I thought there was a chance it could be about a scholarship offer but to be honest, I really wasn't expecting it. Coach Carroll talked to me for awhile about how important the quarterback position is and about some of the great quarterbacks he has been around.
"Then he told me he was offering me a scholarship and I couldn't believe it. He didn't pressure me for a commitment or anything and that's not something I'm even close to doing right now.
"USC is at the top of my list but I'm still going to go through the process and I don't see myself making a commitment until before my senior year. Things can change but I'm open to everyone recruiting me and still plan to take several unofficial visits this August.
"I don't know exactly where yet but I do want to check out some of the schools that have offered like Colorado and Florida State as well as some of the other Pac 10 schools."
Although Barkley will stay open to the different schools recruiting him, he did say USC has a special place in his heart.
"I've always dreamed about playing for them,"Barkley. "I remember doing the victory sign when I was in school and singing the fight song all the time. My dad went there so I've grown up rooting for SC.
"It would be a good fit for me and they have had a lot of success with their quarterbacks recently but honestly, I'm not a lock to go there, I'm really not. I'm going to take my time with everything and really evaluate all the schools to make sure this is the best decision for me."