Sports Radio Interviews

Matt Barkley: “One of the big things I’ve been working on is just to limit my mistakes, control the ball and not try to be Mr. All America that first game.”

What an opportunity. Starting at quarterback for Southern Cal as a freshman. That’s what phenom Matt Barkley will be doing when the Trojans open their 2009 season this coming Saturday against San Jose State at the Coliseum. The Trojans defense should be too much for the Spartans and USC will likely pound the ball on the ground early and often. But if the Trojans offense sputters under Barkley, this one I suppose could be closer than most expect. San Jose State has been pretty solid under current head coach Dick Tomey. All eyes will be on Barkley though as he takes the keys to one of the nation’s marquee programs as a freshman, something you just don’t see that often on teams in position to win national championships year in and year out. Barkley joined KLAC in Los Angeles to talk about what’s going through his mind as opening weekend looms.

On the boost that enrolling early last January gave him towards winning the starting quarterback job:

“It was huge and I really believe that if I hadn’t done that, it would be a different situation than what we have now. But academically speaking, I got credits out of the way and got kind of used to the college life which was nice. But the football aspect of it was huge. To be able to get here and to start relationships with the guys. Just to be around them was important, let alone learning the offense which was a huge head start and really got my feet off the ground early.”

On where he was mentally earlier this offseason when Aaron Corp was named the starter over him and remained so until getting injured:

“I just knew that it’s not over and the competition was still on and I was just going to keep my head down and work hard every day. Because that’s what I’ve been doing my whole life and so if I knew I did that and put forward my best, and if the coaches like it, then you know, they’d pick me. It sucks about Aaron’s injury but at the same time, that’s football and it happens and I just seized an opportunity.”

On if his offensive coordinator has talked to him about finding a ‘game manager’ type role for the offense his freshman year:

“Yeah, definitely. My main priorities going in to the season are to just protect the ball and limit my mistakes. I don’t need to do anything huge because I’ve got such a great supporting cast around me. If we hand the ball off every play and we win, I’ll be happy. But that’s one of the big things I’ve been working on is just to limit my mistakes, control the ball and not try to be Mr. All America that first game. You know, throw my checkdowns, throw it out of bounds if I have to, but not try to force things because we don’t need to do that to win.”

On how he plans to limit the high interception totals he had his senior year in high school (18):

“Yeah, well high school is high school and I really do think I’ve progressed a lot since then. Especially since January when I first came in here, just adapting to a new style of football. I think in high school I felt like l had to do too much at times, but I’ve realized that checkdowns and throws to running backs and shallow routes are great plays. And to get positive yards on 1st down is huge. And so I’ve really controlled myself and not tried to force things – which has been a point of emphasis for me this summer. And I’ve grown comfortable in throwing the ball away and throw those checkdowns which really help overall in the scheme of things.”

Listen here to Barkley on KLAC in Los Angeles

Tags: ESPN Radio Los Angeles, freshman starting quarterbacks in NCAA football, Matt Barkley starting as freshman, Pac 10 Football, Pete Carroll, USC Trojans football