Matt Barkley

Barkley became the first true freshman quarterback to ever start an opener for the Trojans, and the first true freshman to start the opener for a preseason top-five team since Rick Leach did it for #3 Michigan in 1975.

After a slow first quarter, Barkley finished his college debut 233 yards, throwing 15-for-19 with one touchdown in a 56–3 victory.

Barkley's father, Les Barkley, was an All-American water polo player at USC from 1976 to 1979.

He 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 to USC from Mater Dei was Heisman Trophy-winner Matt Leinart (the school had also graduated fellow Heisman winner John Huarte).

After committing to USC, Barkley began recruiting other elite high school players to join him.

Barkley finished his Mater Dei High School career as the all-time passing yardage leader in Orange County, surpassing the record set by Todd Marinovich in 1987.

Matthew Montgomery Barkley (born September 8, 1990) is an American football quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL).

He played college football for the USC Trojans, setting set the Pac-12 Conference season record for touchdown passes as a junior.

In 2005, he became the first freshman quarterback to start at Mater Dei since Todd Marinovich.

As a freshman, he passed for 1,685 yards and 10 touchdowns, but suffered a season-ending injury (broken collarbone) during the playoffs in a quarterfinal win over Colton High School.

The injury was caused by future University of Southern California (USC) teammate, running back Allen Bradford, who played linebacker in high school.

Barkley's high school coach, Bruce Rollinson, permitted him to call his own plays, something he had never allowed a player to do during two decades at Mater Dei.

As a sophomore, he passed for 1,349 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2006.

With the early departure of the Trojans' previous starting quarterback, Mark Sanchez, for the NFL, and with no clear successor, a three-way quarterback battle emerged during spring practices between Barkley and quarterbacks Aaron Corp and Mitch Mustain, both of whom had held the second quarterback spot at various times throughout the season; the latter had been the starting quarterback at Arkansas for eight games in 2006.

Barkley adapted to the Trojans offense and gave strong performances during spring practices: trying for and making big plays but also throwing several key interceptions.

Impressing his coaches, Barkley climbed to the number two spot at the end of Spring behind Corp.

Afterward, ESPN NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr.. stated he believed that in "three years Matt Barkley—who will be a true freshman this year—will be the No. 1 pick in the draft."

Barkley passed for 3,576 yards and 35 touchdowns in 2007, completing 63 percent of his passes with nine interceptions.

In three seasons, he passed for 6,994 yards and 57 touchdowns.

Barkley was named 2007 football Gatorade National Player of the Year, and then the 2007 Gatorade national male athlete of the year, becoming the first non-senior to win both awards.

Barkley also won the 2007 Glenn Davis Award, given to the best high school football player in Southern California, and the inaugural Joe Montana Award as the nation's top high school quarterback.

On January 23, 2008, Barkley verbally committed to USC, ending speculation that he might join UCLA, which had just hired coaches Rick Neuheisel and Norm Chow.

Barkley's 2008 senior season started slow, throwing nearly as many interceptions as touchdown passes and the Monarchs barely keeping above .500; however, his performance turned around and Mater Dei rallied to 7–3 and entered the playoffs.

The Monarchs made it to the quarterfinal, falling to Tesoro High School and ending the season 8–4.

He graduated from high school on December 18, 2008.

Barkley was rated as the top prospect in the nation for the Class of 2009 by ESPN.

He was rated the top prospect by Rivals.com.

Quarterback coach Steve Clarkson described Barkley as a cross between Joe Montana and Tom Brady.

As a top high school player, Barkley was heavily recruited.

On January 4, 2009, Barkley participated in Under Armour All-America Game at the Florida Citrus Bowl.

After a strong performance, where he completed 11-of-22 passes for 237 yards and two touchdowns and led the White team to a 27–16 victory over the Black team, he was named the game's co-MVP.

Soon afterward, he was moved back to the number one high school prospect in America by ESPN, having dropped to tenth during his senior season.

After graduating from high school a semester early, Barkley enrolled in the University of Southern California in January 2009 so he could participate in spring practice with the USC Trojans football team.

He would play for the Trojans for the next four seasons, from 2009 to 2012.

On August 27, during fall practices, Carroll named Barkley the starter for the 2009 season opener against San Jose State.

Due to suffering a shoulder injury in his senior season, he was not selected until the fourth round of the 2013 NFL draft by the Philadelphia Eagles.

Barkley has been a member of seven different teams, mostly as a backup.

His most notable stint was with the Chicago Bears, where he served as the team's starter in 2016.

Barkley was born in Newport Beach, California, and attended Mariners Christian School in Costa Mesa for middle school and later Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana.