Barkley has legitimate shot at starting role

After naming redshirt sophomore Aaron Corp the starting quarterback at the end of spring practice, coach Pete Carroll emphasized that Corp still had to fend off true freshman Matt Barkley once fall camp started.

Since no quarterback under Carroll has ever before relinquished the starting role after being named in the spring, few doubted that Corp would be the guy suiting up Sept. 5 against San Jose State. That was until Aug. 10, the third day of fall practice, when Corp suffered a cracked upper fibula after a teammate rolled into his left knee during a drill.

No ligaments were torn, making the official timetable on Corp’s return only one to two weeks, that would bring him back in plenty of time to get ready for the Trojans’ first game. But it certainly did substantially shake up the quarterback competition, opening the door for Barkley to really make a run at the starting job.

The 18-year-old displayed poise uncharacteristic for a player his age the day the news about Corp’s injury became official, saying he did not feel added pressure.

“No I don’t think there’s pressure on me at all, at least I don’t feel any,” he said. “It’s just exciting. I love football and this is a chance, this is an opportunity that’s been placed in front of me and I just have to grab hold of it.”

Barkley’s number one fan seems to be Carroll, who has raved about the former Mater Dei High School standout since the day spring practice started. Barkley enrolled early at USC, allowing him to take part in spring workouts, a decision that has paid off extraordinarily in hindsight.

“Everything about him is a quarterback: his makeup, his mentality, his confidence, his vision, his savvy, all of that,” Carroll said. “So he’s just remarkably equipped. We’ve seen a lot of great players just struggle for a couple years, but he’s not in that mode.”

That is not to say the job is now Barkley’s. Corp came out of spring practice the clearcut starter, making good decisions, very few mistakes and taking over the leadership role. The challenge for Corp now is to rehabilitate his injured bone and get back to his old form in time to compete with Barkley, who now seems to have the leg up.

Corp admitted he was scared when he went down and got up “real slow, real wide-eyed.” But more than anything he was relieved, calling it the best case scenario.

“I’m excited that it’s not anything that’s season ending or even months or anything like that,” Corp said. “So [I’ll] just rehab and get back out there as soon as I can.”

As much as Barkley has impressed Carroll, the head coach who bleeds competition is expecting the battle to intensify that much more when Corp recovers. Carroll expects Corp to stay involved through film sessions and only have to recover the intangibles, such as timing and confidence.

Carroll compared Corp’s injury to last season, when Mark Sanchez went down with a knee injury (also on the third day of fall camp), but with one key difference: the separation between Corp and Barkley is not nearly as wide as it was between Sanchez and the quarterbacks he was competing with.

“I felt more that way that [Sanchez] was securely and clearly the number one guy,” Carroll said. “I think this competition is obvious. We’ve seen it everyday, and Aaron knows that and Matt knows that.”

Corp’s injury also revitalized often-forgotten redshirt junior Mitch Mustain, making him once again relative in the quarterback discussion. After getting beat out by Barkley for the No. 2 spot on the depth chart in the spring, Mustain had a rough summer, missing some workouts because of academic issues.

Mustain cleared up his issues in the classroom and is now excited to have a little more exposure to coaches in his last-ditch effort to earn the starting job.

“While [Corp’s] out I’ll take advantage of that,” Mustain said. “Obviously I’m up one more spot. It gives me a chance to go a little more head-to-head than otherwise, but I’m not making too much of it.”

Mustain had a good showing in USC’s first fall scrimmage, going 14-of-16 for 154 yards and making one touchdown.

Which quarterback eventually leads the offense will depend on how fast Corp recovers and how much Barkley can overcome his inexperience. Yet Carroll has made it clear that he has no reservations about starting the true freshman.

“[Barkley’s] off the charts,” he said. “With [Matt] Leinart, [Matt] Cassel, [John David] Booty and Sanchez, this is not the same process. We’re nowhere near what we’ve been before.”

And when asked if he would feel comfortable starting in front of 100,000-plus people in Columbus, Ohio, when the Trojans face the Buckeyes on Sept. 12, Barkley did not hesitate.

“Absolutely,” he said.