Washington Huskies Head Coach Says He’d Take Matt Barkley Over Andrew Luck

Well, I think it’s safe to say this is the first time I have heard or ready anything like this:

“If I’m an NFL head coach right now, I’d pick Matt Barkley ahead of Andrew Luck.”

Those are the words of Washington Huskies head coach Steve Sarkisian, who helped recruit Barkley to USC back when he was an assistant there.

It’s an interesting debate, really. Barkley hasn’t completed over 71 percent of his passes like Luck has, but he’s completed 67 percent and has two more touchdown tosses. That being said, Barkley has about two games worth more attempts than Luck, largely due to the fact that Stanford’s running game is far better than USC’s.

It could also be argued that USC has faced tougher competition this season compared to Stanford, who went to a few overtimes against their best opponent, you guessed it, USC.

I am not sure I’m willing to say that Barkley is a better prospect than Luck at this point, but you could certainly make an argument. To me, though, it seems Barkley is still a step or two behind Luck, but he is still a great prospect in his own right.

Barkley also said in a recent interview that he is “50-50” on whether or not he will declare for this year’s draft. This is a topic I have been debating over the last couple weeks, and I maintain my stance: Barkley has every reason to return to USC.

He could have easily transferred to another school where he would have been eligible to make a bowl game, especially after Pete Carroll left for the Seattle Seahawks. There has been rumor that the USC locker room isn’t fond of Kiffin, particularly, so why wouldn’t Barkley transfer?

I get that he is a So-Cal kid, and it was always his dream to play for USC, and that’s why he didn’t leave–so why would he leave now? You go to USC to compete for a BCS title–plain and simple.

Barkley has not had that opportunity, but next year, he will.

If you are not the consensus number one overall prospect and you went to a specific school to win a BCS title, and you have an opportunity next year to win it all with an extremely talented roster, why not go back?

That is all I am saying. I’m not saying it’s a lock that Barkley returns or a lock that he leaves, I am just saying you could make a very compelling case for him to return.