Matt Barkley (Jae C Hong A/P)
There are more questions than answers for the Trojans heading into this afternoon's game against San Jose State. However, Pete Carroll & Co. hope to quash the opinions of some pundits and to get the team primed for the coming season (or more importantly next week's match up against Ohio State).
Carroll better hope that he still has his “Midas-touch” for quarterbacks because he has hedged all bets on "golden boy" true freshman and former Mater Dei High School Star, Matt Barkley. For this past recruiting period, Barkley was considered the top quarterback prospect in the nation, even regarded as the top prospect overall in some draft circles.
After redshirt sophomore, Aaron Corp, went down with a leg injury during fall practice, Barkley quickly pounced on the opportunity given to him and did enough for Pete Carroll to name him the starter going into the beginning of the season. Corp had initially won the starting job at quarterback in spring practice earlier in the year, but the leg injury forced him to miss too much time and prevented him from getting in sync with his fellow starters.
The quarterback position is not the only question mark that the Trojans face for the beginning of this season. Starting receiver, Ronald Johnson, will be out six to eight weeks after breaking his collarbone during last Saturday's “mock game.” Shareece Wright, an expected starter at cornerback for the Trojans, was declared academically ineligible on Monday and will not be allowed to play this season. Defensive tackle, Averill Spicer, will not play against the Spartans due to a high ankle sprain. All-American center, Kristofer O'Dowd was on the fast road to recovery after suffering a dislocated kneecap, but he has decided to sit this one out to prevent further injury.
The Trojans linebacking corps did, however, get a shot in the arm after Luther Brown was cleared academically to play and practice with the team.
The Spartans of San Jose State have been an improving team under head coach, Dick Tomey, fielding a 20-17 record the past three seasons that included one bowl game win. Tomey, who returns fifteen starters to this year's Spartans squad, has had some success against Southern Cal in the past, primarily when he was the head coach at Arizona from 1987-2000.
This game will be designed in one respect to get Matt Barkley more comfortable in the quarterback position. He and his teammates need to get in sync in preparation for next week's game against the Buckeyes.
USC vs San Jose State: 3:30 pm EDT (12:30 pm PDT) Sat Sept 5, 2009
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