[Tuck4Bama]

By Matt Hinton


So much for paying your dues: As of a few minutes ago, Matt Barkley is officially slated to become the first true freshman quarterback to start a USC opener:

"It's clear to us as a staff that Matt Barkley is ready to be the starting quarterback at USC," Carroll said. "He has exceeded all our expectations. He has all the physical ability, he has the mentality and temperament to handle the position, his personality is very well received by all the players and he's extremely talented.

[...]

"He's the starting quarterback at USC -- it's not a one-game deal," Carroll said.

This was a moderately predictable headline after Barkley's allegedly eye-opening performance in the spring; two weeks ago, when Aaron Corp's knee injury opened the door for Barkley to assert himself with the first team, his chances seemed to rise to about 50-50. But today, after two weeks of mostly mediocre practice reports, at least one dreadful scrimmage and a growing concern over his mounting interception total, on a day when even reporters closest to the program reported all signs point to a healthy Corp reassuming the reins by the end of the week, it’s fairly stunning. No: Given the widespread assumptions after Barkley tanked his first scrimmage since Corp’s injury, it’s very stunning.

The kid's alright: Barkley officially USC's first freshman QB - Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo! Sports