Fighting On at USC

Stally's Goal Line Stand

Will Barkley go pro or return to
direct USC again next year? (Getty)

In a 50-0 rout of rival ucla last night, USC QB Matt Barkley set a Pac-12 record for touchdown passes in a season.  If he returns to USC next fall, it will be just one of many records he writes into the books of both the conference and the historic program.  His decision to return or go pro is sure to become a huge debate in the next couples months as he prepares for an announcement on his future.

On one side of the coin, Barkley looks ready for the pros.  The only thing that might keep him from attending the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York next month is an unfair bias against the unfair and biased suspension of USC's program.  His 39 touchdowns are second in the NCAA and his 3,528 yards ranks ninth, as does his 161.2 QB rating.  He threw just seven interceptions and was sacked just eight times.  Sure, the sacks had a lot to do with a very strong offensive line, but you can't overlook a quarterback's pocket presence and his ability to get rid of the ball on-time when you look at high or low sack totals.

He put up these stats while captaining an ineligible team to a dominant 10-2 record.  He beat then-No. 4 Oregon on the road last weekend and would have beat then-No. 6 Stanford last month, if it weren't for corrupt refereeing that cost the Trojans a shot at winning the game.  Austen's much more of a draft analyst than myself, but the consensus among experts is that he would go as a first-round pick.

But, has he gotten everything he wanted to out of USC?  Barkley seems like a smart guy and he comes from a well-to-do family.  If he goes pro now, he won't earn his degree from USC.  To some, that's not important.  Many college football players use college as a stepping stone to the NFL.  Barkley seems to be the kind of kid that would put more emphasis on the degree.

Mark Sanchez said it best when he announced he was going pro.  He had two goals in attending USC: to earn a degree from institution and to put himself in a position to play at the next level.  He pointed out that he did both . Sanchez might have left before his eligibility was up, but he did attend USC for four years (he redshirted as a freshman).  Since we both majored in Communication, I was in the room when he walked for his degree.  I can guarantee the naysayers that he graduated!

Barkley, on the other hand, started as a true freshman.  He's only been at school for three years (although he did attend classes in the spring before his freshman year), and thus has more to accomplish academically.  I also believe he comes from an affluent enough family, like Stanford's Andrew Luck, that he can afford to defer on the money in pro football for a year.

I also expect Barkley wants more from USC.  There's video of him at the age of eight saying that he would one day be the quarterback of the Trojans.  I can't imagine that playing in the Emerald Bowl as a freshman and then suffering through two ineligible seasons in his tenure are the memories Barkley expected to have at SC.   I have to assume he's ambitious. He came to Troy, like most, to pursue a National Championship, and if he returns, the team is good enough to give him that opportunity.

The money he earns by going pro is a great short-term benefit for himself, but a Trojan legend will live forever.  If Barkley returns, he could end up going down in the books as one of the best college quarterbacks of all-time at one of the best programs of all-time.  With the return of top targets (current) sophomore Robert Woods and (current) freshman phenom Marqise Lee, he could easily stand a shot at putting up the stats to win the coveted Heisman.  Most importantly, with a noticeable maturation in 2011 of a young defense to complement his high-scoring offense, he could lead his team to the immortality of a National Championship.

It's either all that glory, or several million dollars.  It's not an easy choice, but when you look at history among recent quarterbacks, you see top college signal callers like Matt Leinart, Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy and Andrew Luck all returning to school.  Bradford was the only one whose stock didn't take somewhat of a hit (and much of that had to do with him being injured throughout his senior season, so he couldn't disappoint on the field), but I don't think that Barkley's stock has even hit its peak yet.  With all the Andrew Luck hype overshadowing him, who's to say Barkley won't go higher than Sanchez's No. 5 selection in 2009, if he can brand himself as the 2013 draft's best QB option?

As a Trojan, I'd be disappointed to see him go, but I'll be fair enough to grant him that he's making a financial decision that we'd all have trouble turning down.  And, that said, I do see Barkley making a business decision.  But, that decision will be to take care of the unfinished business he still has with the cardinal and gold.

He'll be back, USC.  He'll Fight On for the Trojans!