Matt Barkley Matthew Montgomery " Matt " Barkley ( born September 8 , 1990 ) is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League ( NFL ) . As a high school player and college recruit , Barkley was a sports media phenomenon . He played college football for the University of Southern California ( USC ) . Barkley was drafted in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles . Early years . Barkley was born in Newport Beach , California . He attended Mater Dei High School of Santa Ana , California . In 2005 , he became the first freshman quarterback to start at Mater Dei High School since Todd Marinovich . As a freshman he passed for 1 , 685 yards and 10 touchdowns , but suffered a season - ending injury ( broken collarbone ) during the playoffs in a quarter - final win over Colton High School . The injury was caused by future USC teammate , running back Allen Bradford , who played linebacker in high school . His high school coach , Bruce Rollinson , permitted him to call his own plays , something he had never allowed a player to do during two decades at Mater Dei . As a sophomore , he passed for 1 , 349 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2006 . Barkley passed for 3 , 576 yards and 35 touchdowns in 2007 , completing 63 percent of his passes with nine interceptions . In three seasons , he passed for 6 , 994 yards and 57 touchdowns . Barkley was named 2007 football Gatorade National Player of the Year , and then the 2007 Gatorade national male athlete of the year , becoming the first non - senior to win both awards . Barkley also won the 2007 Glenn Davis Award , given to best high school football player in Southern California , as well as the inaugural Joe Montana Award as the nation ' s top high school quarterback . Barkley was rated as the first overall prospect in the nation for the Class of 2009 by ESPN . He was rated the first overall prospect by Rivals . com . Quarterback coach Steve Clarkson described Barkley as a cross between Joe Montana and Tom Brady . As a top high school player , he was heavily recruited . On January 23 , 2008 , Barkley verbally committed to USC , ending speculation that he might join UCLA , which had just hired coaches Rick Neuheisel and Norm Chow . Barkley ' s father , Les Barkley , was an All - American water polo player at USC from 1976 to 1979 . He made his decision more than a year before his National Signing Day , telling his family and coaches and then calling USC coach Pete Carroll on his cell phone . The previous quarterback to go to USC from Mater Dei was Heisman Trophy - winner Matt Leinart ( the school had also graduated fellow Heisman winner John Huarte ) . After committing to USC , Barkley began recruiting other elite high school players to join him . His 2008 senior season started slow , with Barkley throwing nearly as many interceptions as touchdown passes and the Monarchs barely keeping above . 500 ; however his performance turned around and Mater Dei rallied to 7 – 3 and entered the playoffs . The Monarchs made it to the quarterfinal , falling to Tesoro High School and ending the season 8 – 4 . Barkley finished his Mater Dei career as the all - time passing yardage leader in Orange County , surpassing the record set by Todd Marinovich in 1987 . He graduated from high school on December 18 , 2008 . On January 4 , 2009 , Barkley participated in the 2009 Under Armour All - America Game at the Florida Citrus Bowl . After a strong performance , where he completed 11 - of - 22 passes for 237 yards and two touchdowns and led the White team to a 27 – 16 victory over the Black team , he was named the game ' s co - MVP . Soon afterward , he was moved back to the number one high school prospect in America by ESPN , having dropped to tenth during his senior season . College career . After graduating from high school a semester early , Barkley enrolled in the University of Southern California in January 2009 so he could participate in spring practice with the USC Trojans football team . He would play for the Trojans for the next four seasons , from 2009 to 2012 . 2009 . With the early departure of the Trojans ' previous starting quarterback , Mark Sanchez , for the NFL , and with no clear successor , a three - way quarterback battle emerged during spring practices between Barkley and quarterbacks Aaron Corp and Mitch Mustain , both of whom had held the second quarterback spot at various times throughout the season ; the latter had been the starting quarterback at Arkansas for eight games in 2006 . He adapted to the Trojans offense and gave strong performances during spring practices : trying for and making big plays but also throwing several key interceptions . Impressing his coaches , Barkley climbed to the number two spot at the end of Spring behind Corp . Afterward , ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper stated he believed that in " three years Matt Barkley — who will be a true freshman this year — will be the No . 1 pick in the draft . " On August 27 , during fall practices , Carroll named Barkley the starter for the 2009 season opener against San Jose State . He is the first true freshman quarterback to ever start an opener for the Trojans , and also the first true freshman to start the opener for a preseason top - five team since Rick Leach did it for No . 3 Michigan in 1975 . After a slow first quarter , Barkley finished his college debut 233 yards , throwing 15 - for - 19 with one touchdown in a 56 – 3 victory . His second game brought his first major test and first road game , against the highly ranked Ohio State Buckeyes . Before a sold - out , raucous crowd at Ohio Stadium , Barkley led a game - winning , 86 - yard drive late in the fourth quarter , earning significant praise from the sports media . Barkley suffered a shoulder bruise in the Ohio State game , and had to sit out the following week ' s game at Washington . With Aaron Corp at the helm , the Trojans struggled in a major upset loss , falling to the unranked Huskies 16 – 13 while putting up the lowest number of passing yards for a USC team since Carroll took over the program in 2001 . Carroll had Barkley , who was not fully recovered from his injury , start the next game against Washington State . Barkley contributed to a 27 – 6 victory , passing for 247 yards and two touchdowns . He followed this up with 282 passing yards in a 30 – 3 win over California on October 3 . The next week against Notre Dame , he was 19 for 29 with 2 TD ' s . He followed that up with a 15 – 25 two touchdown game against Oregon State . Against Stanford he threw 3 interceptions and only 1 touchdown . Two weeks later he went 1 touchdown and 1 interception in a 28 – 7 victory over UCLA . The following week he also , went 1 – 1 in a 21 – 17 loss to Arizona . He closed his freshman season by throwing for 350 yards and 2 touchdowns against Boston College in the 2009 Emerald Bowl . 2010 . On September 2 , 2010 , Barkley led the Trojans to an opening week victory at Hawaii 49 - 36 . Barkley contributed 5 passing touchdowns ( 3 to wide receiver Ronald Johnson ) on 17 - of - 23 passing for 257 yards . The win marked a successful debut for new USC head coach Lane Kiffin and the first win under USC ' s 2010 NCAA probation and sanctions . Both teams amassed over 500 yards of total offense . Barkley said , " I ' m just trying to be as perfect as I can be . Last week was pretty close , but that perfect game is kind of a goal and that ' s no completions . " Coach Kiffin added , " We ' ll see if he can continue to do it again . Great quarterbacks put together good games every week . " Matt Barkley continued a solid sophomore campaign . With notable performances against Stanford and Cal . Barkley sprained his ankle during a loss to Oregon State and was forced to the sideline for the Notre Dame game . He returned to lead the Trojans to a gutsy 28 - 14 victory over UCLA . 2011 . Barkley began 2011 by setting the USC single game record for completions with 34 against Minnesota . On October 1 , he passed for a USC single game record for 468 yards . On November 4 , he passed for a USC single game record for touchdowns in a game with 6 , against the Colorado Buffaloes , one of the two additions to the Pac - 12 in its inaugural season ; the game was the first against Colorado since 2002 . He had previously tied the single game touchdown record three times , sharing it with Rodney Peete , Carson Palmer , Matt Leinart and Mark Sanchez . On November 26 , against the UCLA Bruins , he tied the single game touchdown record again in a 50 - 0 shutout of the Bruins . On national television Barkley stated that the best moment of the UCLA game was his pass to his cousin Robbie Boyer . Over the 2011 season , Barkley accumulated 39 touchdowns , an all - time Pac - 12 record , and helped end the season with a 10 - 2 record . Barkley had the 6th most votes for the Heisman Trophy . He finished with a 39 - 7 touchdown - to - interception ratio while completing 69 . 1 % of his passes . He won the 2011 CFPA National Performer of the Year Trophy with his record breaking season . On December 22 , 2011 , at a press conference convened at Heritage Hall , Barkley announced he would return for his senior year with the USC Trojans rather than entering the 2012 NFL Draft . Barkley announced his return to USC in his own unique way by giving Coach Kiffin a homemade ornament for Christmas with a picture of them at the Colorado game , but on the back revealing the text " One more year . " Barkley has described his decision to stay at University of Southern California in his senior as " unfinished business " , as he wanted to be part of a team that would be aiming for the BCS championship after a two - year postseason ban . 2012 . Going into his senior season , Barkley was widely considered a favorite to win the Heisman Trophy . At the beginning of the season , USC was ranked # 1 in the preseason poll , but a 21 - 14 loss to then - # 21 Stanford ended USC ' s potential BCS national championship run . USC then went on to lose 5 games that year , as well as losing to rival UCLA for the first time in six years . Matt Barkley was knocked out of that game by UCLA ' s Anthony Barr with a shoulder separating hit , thus ending his regular season abruptly . On December 27 , 2012 head coach Lane Kiffin announced that Barkley would not play in the Sun Bowl because of a shoulder injury , effectively ending his college football career . Professional career . 2013 NFL Draft . Although being projected a top - 10 selection for the 2012 NFL Draft by midseason of 2011 , Matt Barkley then decided to return to USC for his senior season . As early as April 2012 , he was projected the No . 1 overall pick for the 2013 NFL Draft . However , one month prior to the draft , Barkley ' s draft stock had fallen with ESPN draft analysts Mel Kiper Jr . and Todd McShay projecting Barkley to fall out of the first round . Due to his shoulder injury , Barkley did not throw in the Indianapolis NFL Scouting Combine and instead took medical tests on his shoulder . Barkley was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 4th round as the 98th overall pick . Philadelphia Eagles . 2013 rookie season . Going into training camp , it was announced that Barkley would be given a chance to compete for the starting back job , facing off against the two starting quarterbacks from the previous season , Nick Foles and Michael Vick . On October 20 , 2013 , he saw his first NFL action against the Dallas Cowboys as he came into to relief for Nick Foles , who left early in the fourth quarter due to a head injury . In that game , Barkley completed 11 of his 20 pass attempts for 129 yards , and threw for 3 interceptions . Barkley ' s second game came the following week in relief of Foles ( concussion ) and Vick ( quadriceps ) on October 27 versus the New York Giants . Barkley completed 17 of 26 passes for 158 yards , no touchdowns , 1 interception and 1 fumble inside their red zone . Personal life . Barkley is a devout Christian and plays acoustic guitar with a church youth group . His father Les co - owns an insurance business with his brother in - law . At Mater Dei , Barkley ' s parents started the Monarchs for Marines ( M4M ) campaign , whereby hundreds of Mater Dei students , coaches and parents volunteered to landscape and renovate youth areas at nearby Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton . Barkley had a 3 . 77 GPA in high school and frequently speaks to young students about the importance of staying on top of school work . Barkley ' s cousin , Robbie Boyer , was a walk - on at USC during Barkley ' s freshman , sophomore , and junior years . During Christmas 2008 , Barkley went with a group of friends and family to help run an orphanage in South Africa . He appears on I Am Second , sharing the story of his Christian faith and personal relationship with Jesus Christ . At the beginning of his USC career , Barkley befriended former USC Olympian , World War II prisoner of war and inspirational speaker , Louis Zamperini .