This is one of those things that you hear and you just sit there and think.
The Washington Huskies play the USC Trojans this week so maybe Head Coach Steve Sarkisian is trying to either get Matt Barkley off his game or at least make him complacent. Either way, Sarkisian is giving Matt Barkley the ultimate praise. When speaking about the USC QB and his future as an NFL Prospect, the Huskies Head Coach had this to say:
“If I’m an NFL head coach right now I’d pick Matt Barkley ahead of Andrew Luck,” Sarkisian said of USC’s junior quarterback this week, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “I think where he fits into the NFL in his pocket presence and what (USC coach) Lane (Kiffin) is doing with him, the variety of offense they are playing with, his ability to make all of the throws, throwing them on time and to them accurately. He’s fantastic to me, and I know him personally, so I have a little better insight into what he is and what he represents. I think he’s fantastic.”
Barkley over Luck? Andrew Luck? The Chosen One from Stanford…..?
First off, I think Matt Barkley is an excellent quarterback. Much better than the guy before him at USC — Mark Sanchez. Also, I think he’ll be a 1st rounder and the second QB chosen after Andrew Luck — (For some reason I see him going to Denver despite the presence of Tim Tebow). However, you don’t hear anyone sucking for Barkley. Or wearing #7 Barkley jerseys of their favorite NFL team. Additionally, Matt Barkley isn’t the guy you would trade away Peyton Manning and rebuild around.
We’ve got to understand that Steve Sarkisian recruited Barkley to USC when he was an assistant coach there, so the praise for the young QB has been there since high school. Nevertheless, there are compliments and exaggerations — there’s a difference.
But then again, there’s no predicting the future. What if Barkley turns out to be the next Peyton Manning while Luck becomes the next Ryan Leaf. We’ll see, hindsight is after all, 20/20
