Matt Barkley Scouting Report, QB, USC

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Measurables:

6’2 220 pounds

Stats

2010:

62.6 completion percentage. 7.40 yards per pass attempt, 26 tds and 12 INT.

PROS: Will come in and be a leader of an NFL locker room, great personality, strong arm, improved accuracy, good athlete, former top HS prospect, hard worker, three-year starter at one of the country’s most prestigious football universities, Pac 10 academic All Conference honorable mention, runs a pro-style offense at USC. Strong arm, plays in a pro style offense. Good feel in the pocket. Durable, has yet to miss a start. Plus at reading coverages, will continue to improve going through his progressions. Has excellent ball placement…has some wheels…good size…can throw the ball on the run

CONS: Slightly shorter than guys like Peyton Manning, Cam Newton, Andrew Luck, etc., but that shouldn’t affect him at all, case of Jay Cutler syndrome first two years adjusting to college game, numbers haven’t blown anyone away until 2011. Is he clutch? He hasn’t been able to win some big games in the fourth quarter, holds onto the ball a little long. Inconsistent accuracy

Player Comparison: Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints

I’m still working out all of the player comparisons as I watch the players more, but his big arm ability to make all the throws, play mostly in from the pocket, but also a guy who can throw pretty well on the run. They are similar in their ability to get rid of the ball quickly when they recognize a pre-snap coverage. Barkley is a little taller than Brees and a better prospect coming out of College (Brees has become an excellent pro though), Brees is more accurate.

Thoughts? There are probably better comparisons out there.

Nick Castillo’s preseason scouting report

NFL personnel men have been waiting to get their hands on Barkley since high school when he was the 2007 Gatorade Player of the Year as a Junior. He was the #1 overall prospect when he committed to USC and became the very first true freshman to start for the Trojans. This year, Barkley will be a Junior and it may be his last year playing for the Trojans before he takes his talents to the NFL. I have watched every game of Barkley since he became a Trojan and I am confident that he will be a top 5 pick whenever he decides to come out. Barkley has great poise in the pocket. He is great at stepping up, side stepping, and doing whatever is necessary to avoid the pass rush. He has an NFL caliber arm. Now, it isn’t the best arm, but he’s more then capable of making all the NFL throws. He has a good, compact throwing motion. He improved significantly from 09 to 10. He threw 11 more touchdowns and 2 less interceptions. He runs a pro style offense, is a great leader, and works hard. Now, Barkley is not perfect. He has been inconsistent with his accuracy during his time at SC. He completed 60 percent of his passes as a freshman and 62 as a sophomore. He will likely have a difficult time this season thanks to a very young, and injured o-line. Additionally, Barkley has been dinged up each of the two years he played at USC. A full, healthy year at USC will due him good or he might be labeled “fragile” when he comes out. Nevertheless, Barkley is an elite prospect who will be a franchise QB for some team whenever he comes out. He is a likely top 5 pick and with the offensive weapons that surround him at USC, he could challenge Andrew Luck for the #1 pick in 2012.

2012 pre-season notes:

Barkley has been a celebrity at USC ever since he signed on to play for the Trojans, and what a career it’s been for him. He had a fantastic junior season, in which he really out-played a couple of Heisman candidates. At the end of last season, I think the Trojans were playing the NCAA’s version of the role that the Giants played in the NFL, where they were just white hot at the end of last year. Barkley was a huge reason why. His leadership, poise, moxie, and overall football intelligence are very impressive to me. Barkley has a chance to be the number one pick in the draft this year, and I think there’s a really good shot of that happening. He has a strong arm, makes smart plays, and like I said before–the intangibles are there in spades. Barkley will come into the NFL with something pretty rare, especially at a college like USC–he will have four years of starting experience, barring injury. His ability to make plays is uncanny, and he doesn’t just lock in on one receiver. Barkley has a pair of dynamic weapons in junior Robert Woods and sophomore Marquise Hill, and both had over 1,000 yards in 2011. Last year, Barkley completed over 69 percent of his passes with an outstanding TD/INT ratio of 39:7. The thing I’m most impressed by is the fact that Barkley chose to return to school. He could have been a top three to five pick in the 2012 draft, but he chose to finish at USC what he intended to go there for in the first place–end with a championship victory. Barkley has never played in the college postseason. We don’t know what he’s made of in bowl game situations. All we know is that Barkley has grown and matured as a prospect to a height that not many players get to see. He is a big time QB prospect with all the tools to play right away in the NFL, and I think he could be a star someday. He is a humble, down to earth kid living a dream at USC. He has a really bright future ahead of him.

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