Matt Barkley Mulling Jump to NFL
Added on Dec 01, 2011 by Scott in
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USC junior quarterback Matt Barkley has taken the first step to leaving school early after filing evaluation papers with the NFL yesterday. Under advisement from head coach Lane Kiffin, Barkley has begun the process to decide whether or not he’ll declare himself eligible for the 2012 draft. He has until the middle of January to make his intentions known.
Barkley, along with Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck and Alabama running back Trent Richardson, is a legitimate Heisman candidate after tying a school record with 39 touchdown passes. Needless to say, he has little left to prove at the college level.
“If I were to leave it would be due to the fact that I would be a top-five pick, a top-10 pick, something I’ve dreamed of, something I’ve always wanted to happen,” he said. “I think if I were to go it would be just that time in my life where I finished well at USC and I’m ready to move on.”
His resume and pedigree would most assuredly guarantee him being a top-10 selection. Especially with the NFL’s new rookie wage scale in place, which allowed for Jake Locker and Christian Ponder to be early first-round picks in 2011. By most accounts, Barkley is considered a more polished prospect than either of those quarterbacks.
Some pundits have even suggested he’s on par if not better than Andrew Luck. Statistically speaking, they are nearly identical. Both have thrown 80 touchdowns. Barkley has 9054 career passing yards, Luck has 9083. Luck has been more efficient though, having thrown 13 fewer interceptions. Should both enter the draft, they would be the best duo since Eli Manning and Philip Rivers in 2004.
Unfortunately for Barkley, the 10-2 Trojans aren’t eligible to play in the Pac-12 championship and subsequent bowl game due to NCAA violations. If he does return to campus, he would be the Heisman frontrunner on a potential preseason number one team in 2012. That’s very enticing, but so is millions of guaranteed money in the NFL.
Source: LA Times
