After he finished his first official practice as the starting quarterback for the University of Southern California on Thursday, Matt Barkley was engulfed by a media swarm.
Nearby, a group of offensive linemen huddled up and barked in unison, "Leave Barkley alone!"
Sorry guys, that's not going to get it done. And make no mistake, it will be your job to protect him.
As the first true freshman to start at quarterback in the Pete Carroll Era at USC (eight days from now against San Jose State), the 18-year-old from Santa Ana Mater Dei will surely need the support of the 10 more experienced offensive players around him.
The one thing they can't do -- and this is the biggest concern around Troy with the gifted teen from Newport Beach -- is protect him from himself.
The same confidence that helped make him the nation's top prep quarterback recruit last year is also the thing that led to 18 interceptions his senior year, and resulted in similar miscues from spring drills right through this week.
That is, Barkley has rarely seen a hole in a secondary he didn't think he could squeeze a ball through.
The presumption, of course, is that the Trojans have weighed the options between Barkley and the safer choice -- sophomore Aaron Corp, who meticulously protected the ball much better than Barkley in the spring and summer before getting hurt -- and decided they could rid the kid of his gunslinger habits.
Asked if he were willing to accept some inevitable "freshman mistakes" from Barkley, Coach Pete Carroll offered a quickie seminar on the Trojans' turnover philosophy, which is, in short: "Don't you dare!"
"We're making no concessions because he's a freshman," Carroll said. "We expect him to live up to our standards."
On the other hand, turning Barkley into Cautious Clyde has its own potential dangers. For now, though, we'll assume the professionals know what they're doing.
The timing of the Barkley announcement itself was curious. Two days before, Carroll had said that Corp would be given until Saturday's final mock game at the Coliseum to prove he had recovered from his cracked left tibia and possibly reclaim the starting spot he had held since last spring.
Thursday, the USC brass was re-spinning the scenario.
"Matt earned it on the field," said Jeremy Bates, the assistant head coach of the offense. "It wasn't based on injuries ... we just wanted to get it done."
Carroll was a little more candid, admitting Barkley was presented a wide open chance by Corp's injury, which couldn't have been timed any better had Tonya Harding's pipe-wielding friends made a criminal reappearance.
"Matt seized the opportunity and he went crazy," said Carroll, who noted that it was obvious Corp wouldn't be 100 percent by the opener, and that choosing Barkley now would give the frosh a chance to settle in with the responsibilities, including the media crush.
"It's an honor," Barkley said, citing USC's proud tradition. "Now I have to live up to it."
As for Corp, he was understandably subdued, and clearly disappointed about getting passed by Barkley while rehabbing his leg. But he also displayed uncommon maturity when someone asked him if he thought the decision was fair. He hesitated, stared over the heads of several reporters and said, "Yeah."
If Barkley can demonstrate that kind of restraint, the Trojans should be all right.
(Contact Gregg Patton at pattong(at)PE.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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Must credit The Press-Enterprise of Riverside, Calif.
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