Is Cool Barkley Next Great College QB?

LOS ANGELES -- The afternoon sun was orgasmic, framing the Memorial Coliseum in a California daydream as the USC band played its triumphant post-game march. Yet nothing was more radiant than Matt Barkley's smile. He was standing at midfield after his debut, engulfed by media wondering if an 18-year-old true freshman can be worthy of college football's answer to a Hollywood processional: Carson Palmer to Matt Leinart to John David Booty to Mark Sanchez to ...

Wasn't he nervous? "No, I wasn't nervous at all," said Barkley, smiling. "It was so much fun to be out there. It felt slow. I felt perfectly calm and at ease. The guys did a great job saying to me, 'This is you, be yourself.' I don't really get nervous, and at the same time, I'm not going to get super pumped up."

Wasn't it a bummer when his first four series ended in two fumbles and two punts, giving San Jose State a brief 3-0 lead in front of 84,000 spoiled, grumbling fans? "We just put it behind us and realized there was nothing we could do about it," said Barkley, smiling. "We came out rocking after that. I'm so happy we bounced back and showed what we're about."

What was the toughest part about the day? "The run up the tunnel at halftime," said Barkley, smiling. "That was brutal."

And what did he learn about himself? "This is fun. This is easy. This is what I was made to do," said Matt Barkley, still smiling. "I really think God put me here for a reason."

If this truly is a mission from God, what he was made to do in life, then we're watching the beginning of a special chapter in football lore. Barkley is the first true freshman passer ever to open a season at USC, which has been the nation's foremost cradle of quarterbacks in the Pete Carroll era, and to hear the coach, this kid could be the best of them all. After the slow start, Barkley kept his equilibrium and was a model of poise and efficiency Saturday, completing 15 of 19 passes for 233 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions for an offense that amassed 621 total yards in a 56-3 romp. He did just enough to perpetuate what only can be described as Carroll's man-crush on him, which has been evident since USC offered Barkley a football full ride as a freshman at Orange County's Mater Dei High, where Leinart once starred.

"Matt Barkley just absolutely handled it," he said. "It was no big deal to him. He was calm, poised, fun to talk to, a blast to coach today. He goes 15 of 19 with three intentional throwaways -- we'll take it every time. He had a smile on his face and loved every minute. And he has showed us nothing but that from the day he arrived here. Those on the outside wonder how in the world we could do this, starting a young kid like this. We did it because of who he is, a remarkable young man. We've had great football players here and great kids play quarterback, and no one has been able to do it like he's done it. Every bit of it is a cool story."

Before we anoint him as potentially the greatest of USC quarterbacks, though, let's issue a reminder of what his predecessors accomplished. Palmer won a Heisman Trophy. Leinart won a Heisman and two national championships and became a chick idol. If Booty was something of a short-term transition, Sanchez was a quick study and immediate star who might be the next Joe Namath in New York and achieve everything Leinart has not in the NFL. Let's also point out, for those who see the Trojans ranked No. 3 today after Oklahoma lost a game and Sam Bradford in one swoop, that no true freshman ever has started a season at quarterback and led his team to a national title. The only true freshman QB to win a national championship was Oklahoma's Jamelle Holieway in 1985, and through time, even the likes of Peyton Manning and John Elway have struggled as true frosh. The No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, Matthew Stafford, stumbled as a freshman. So did Notre Dame's Jimmy Clausen, who has thrown nine touchdown passes in his last two games and, for a week anyway, is justifying Charlie Weis' existence at Notre Dame.


But Carroll proceeded with his calculated gamble nonetheless, banking on Barkley's maturity and character to override the staggering pressures that come with the USC job. Rather than use third-year sophomore Aaron Corp or transfer Mitch Mustain, once a ballyhooed freshman starter at Arkansas, he chose Barkley. He's the most visible player in a massive media market that has no pro football team. Suddenly, he's walking back to the sideline and seeing Snoop Dogg, Will Ferrell and a host of celebrities staring at him. You figure Carroll, who understands completely that the USC quarterbacking position comes with some sex appeal, sees the kid fitting right in with his blond hair and good looks. Somehow, Barkley isn't fazed by any of the expectations and projections. "I don't feel intimidated at all," he said. "There's been some great quarterbacks here, we all know that, and I'm excited to be a part of it. I've been preparing this whole time like I'm the starter. That's what I came here hoping to do."

If Charles is the loud, rambling Barkley in the sports world, Matt is the polar opposite. He's breezy and laid back, not old enough to grow more than peach-fuzz stubble on his face. Asked what he thought about four dozen reporters and camera people intercepting him after the game, he said, "I could care less. It's just part of the territory of being the SC quarterback. I think the only difference between this game and a practice is that there were people in the stands. You could feel that energy. I was just picturing being at practice with my brothers and just having a lot of fun being out there with great athletes. It was a dream come true."

Said gifted running back Joe McKnight, who rushed for 145 yards and two scores and will get plenty of touches while Barkley gains experience: "He just came to the huddle calm and collected, like there's no pressure on him. He called the plays. He gave us a couple of pep talks in the huddle early on, and said, 'Guys, let's get it going.' And once he said that, we got it going right after."

The dream, of course, quickly could turn ugly. This Saturday night, the Trojans abandon L.A.'s creature comforts and enter a hostile Horseshoe in Columbus, where Ohio State awaits in a colossal early-season test of two top-5 teams. Last year, it was OSU's Terrelle Pryor who was thrown into the fire as a freshman at the Coliseum. This time, it's Barkley, who could place the Trojans in perfect position for season-long national-championship contention with a victory. Pryor is a breathtaking athlete, a 6-foot-6 force who often looks unstoppable running in the open field. But after the fifth-ranked Buckeyes barely survived a late charge by Navy -- that's what I said, Navy -- Pryor sparked controversy in Ohio with his post-game commentary on Michael Vick. After paying tribute to the presumably reformed dogkiller during the game via an eye-black patch -- "Vick" was under the left eye -- the sophomore quarterback let loose.

"I always looked up to Mike Vick and I always will, because I still think he is one of the best quarterbacks," Pryor said. "I love Mike Vick. I know what happened with him and, I mean, I don't want to talk much. I'm just going to be very short and sweet with it. I just feel he made his mistake and I think he just needs more support. Not everybody is the perfect person in the world. Everyone does -- kills people, murders people, steals from you, steals from me. I just feel that people need to give him a chance."

Everyone kills and murders people? Uh, not a smart comment with the national media coming to town. And not the best timing on a day when he threw a bad interception that almost led to a monumental upset. "I know, when you're a quarterback, that (interception) really puts a damper on how you feel about your performance but I thought, all in all, Terrelle did some very good things," coach Jim Tressel said. "I thought he threw the ball well, and I thought he made good decisions."

Any reaction to the Vick tribute? "No thoughts," said Tressel, though I'm sure some thoughts were conveyed Sunday.

While Carroll is one of America's most celebrated coaches in any sport, USC hasn't won a national title since the 2004 season and still is stinging from the upset loss to Vince Young and Texas the next season. The Trojans have laid too many regular-season eggs of late -- at Oregon State last year, at home against Stanford and at Oregon the year before, at Oregon State in 2006 -- and fans and boosters are getting restless in the Coliseum. Which is why Ohio State is the program's biggest game in years. If the Trojans win, they'll remain in the hunt for a national title with Florida and Texas, which benefits from Oklahoma's loss. If the Trojans lose, the grumbling only will grow louder.

And at the core of it all will be Matt Barkley, unfazed and unencumbered by the moment.

"I can't wait for next week," he said. "We'll have a whole new game plan and I can't wait to start looking at that. I don't think it'll make any difference that we're on the road. We'll do our best, focus on ourselves. The atmosphere is going to be nuts, but I've got my guys and I know what we have to get done."

You'll never guess what he wore.

A smile.