Matt Barkley announced his decision to remain with the USC Trojans for his senior season in front of a Christmas tree in the middle of Heritage Hall on the campus of the University of Southern California. It was a Merry Christmas for SC Nation, as the band, assembled for this press conference, played the fight song in celebration.
Barkley, who led USC to a 10-2 record this season, is projected as a top 5-10 pick in the April draft. Many scouts have him as the second quarterback taken after Andrew Luck. The junior from Newport Beach, California is the last of four prominent Trojan college football players juniors to announce his plans this season.
All-American left tackle Matt Kalil and defensive end Nick Perry are turning pro. All-American safety T.J. McDonald announced Wednesday that he would return for his senior season.
Is this a trend? Stanford’s Andrew Luck could have left school early and been the #1 overall pick, but he stayed. St. Louis Rams QB Sam Bradford could have left early after winning the Heisman, but he stayed, and things worked out for him. This is the third time in recent memory that a USC QB held a press conference to announce a NFL Draft decision.
According to the L.A. Times
In 2005, Matt Leinart said he would return to USC. In 2009, Mark Sanchez announced he would enter the NFL draft.
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