The first and only three-year captain in Southern California’s storied football history, Matt Barkley has been the face of Trojan football since his freshman year and is on pace to leave his legacy in the school record books. He becomes the 13th NFF National Scholar-Athlete from USC.
Barkley has twice earned Academic All-Pac-12 honors, garnering second team laurels in 2011 and honorable mention accolades as a sophomore. The Newport Beach, Calif., native is a communications major, participating in Macintosh OSX Forensics this semester, the first course of its kind at USC.
A 2011 Third Team All-America selection, who finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting as a junior, he is on pace to break numerous conference and school passing records in his final season. In 2011, Barkley set school records for season touchdown passes (39), completions in a game (35), game passing yardage (468), touchdown passes in a game (6), and total offense (470) en route to being name the 2011 Offensive Player of the Year by CollegeFootballNews.com. He recently eclipsed Heisman Trophy winning QB Matt Leinart’s record for career touchdowns at USC, which stood at 99. Twice earning all-conference recognition, the 2011 Manning Award finalist passed up being a top five NFL Draft pick to return to Troy for his final year of eligibility. Barkley has completed 140 passes for 1,773 yards and 22 touchdowns for the No. 9-ranked Trojans this season.
One of USC’s greatest ambassadors in the community, the 2011 AFCA Good Works Team member has taken trips to Haiti, Nigeria, and South Africa, working at orphanages, providing supplies, and building houses for the underprivileged. Barkley is an annual speaker at Troy Camp, USC’s oldest and largest philanthropic organization, and he has participated in children’s hospital visits, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, tutoring at KidWorks Center, and the Community Bowl.
Barkley was selected in the fourth round (98th overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. He played two years with the Eagles, two back-to-back years with the Cardinals, one year with the Bears, and is currently a member of the Buffalo Bills.
