5-Star Advice: Matt Barkley
From the book "5-star QB", Q&A with the former USC QB who's turned to broadcasting in his first season following an 11-year NFL career
There have been 140 quarterbacks in the history of recruiting who were dubbed ‘5-Star QBs.’ While only 1 of those won a Super Bowl and only 20 were drafted in the first round all of those signal callers can offer brilliant insight and advice. Some may be deemed busts by fans, some are transitioning out of football and some are currently playing on Saturdays and Sundays but all have a story and over 50 of them have shared with us some of their most intimate insights into their path from high school to retirement, and everything in between.
In addition, another 50 ambassadors of the game have offered their advice to anyone going through the process of recruiting and quarterback play and their expertise is second to none.
Each week we will take you inside the minds of those who play quarterback, coached quarterbacks or covered quarterbacks at the highest level and our goal is that the stories shared will impact how you view the game. After all, the goal of Y-Option is to bring thoughtful conversation to the world of college football, through the lens of the West Coast.
This week’s contributor of “5-Star Advice” is former USC quarterback Matt Barkley. The #1 overall recruit in the Class of 2009, Barkley was a starter from the jump with the Trojans. In his 4 seasons with the cardinal & gold, the Newport Beach native set the Pac-12 record for career passing yards and touchdowns (both later broken) in 47 career games. Barkley injured his shoulder against UCLA as a senior (after throwing 6 TD against them as a junior) which caused him to miss their bowl game and saw his draft stock drop from the projected #1 overall pick to the 4th round by the Philadelphia Eagles. Over 11 NFL seasons, Barkley was a part of 11 different NFL franchises, mostly as a backup, but did start 6 games for the Chicago Bears in 2016. This season is his first not on an NFL roster but instead with the Big Ten Network having been the analyst on Indiana’s season opener against Florida International.
From the book “5-Star QB: It’s Not About the Stars, It’s About the Journey”….
When did you get your first scholarship offer?
After my freshman season (2006), Coach Dan Hawkins at the University of Colorado at Boulder sent me my first scholarship offer. He sent a Buffalo-themed Monopoly Board with the total value in fake money of how much the scholarship was worth over 4 years. Pretty cool, and still probably the best offer story I received...
What schools offered you prior to being ranked 5-Star?
I’m not sure exactly when I got my 5-Star ranking, but I had offers from every single program in the nation.