The Freshman 15: Top new QBs in fantasy college football
Wednesday, February 11th, 2009
Matt Barkley
In order to prepare you for the 2009 fantasy college football season properly we have invested more time than usual following the recruiting scene, and no one has stepped up more than Jason Roberts. Jason begins his survey of the top five freshman expected at QB, RB and WR – and that equals the dreaded “Freshman 15″.
Matt Barkley, QB, University of Southern California
Believed to be the undisputed #1 recruit for the class of 2009 , Barkley committed to the University of Southern California while still a junior at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California. The first freshman to start at quarterback for Mater Dei since Todd Marinovich walked its storied halls (Matt Leinart and Colt Brennan are also Mater Dei QB alumni), Barkley impressed by throwing for 1685 yards and 10 touchdowns in his first year as a starter. By the end of his junior season, Barkley had thrown for 6594 yards and 57 touchdowns, with a majority coming off an outstanding 2007 performance in which he passed for 3576 yards and 35 touchdowns, all the while completing 63% of his passes. As a senior, Barkley struggled passing for nearly as many interceptions as he had touchdowns, and barely kept his Monarchs above the .500 mark. Mater Dei rallied, however, in no small part to Barkley’s leadership, and made it as far as the quarterfinals in the 2008 high school playoffs. In doing so, Barkley ended his high school career as the all-time passing leader in Orange County and accumulated a number of prestigious awards and recognitions for his abilities, including the 2007 Gatorade National Player of the Year, 2007 Glenn Davis Award, and 2007 Joe Montana Award. He also participated in the 2009 Under Armour All-American High School Football Game in Orlando, Florida, where he produced a game-high 237 yards passing and two touchdowns as the contest’s co-MVP. Read the rest of this entry →
