updated 4:06 p.m. ET Feb. 4, 2008

Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei standout Matt Barkley was the first quarterback under coach Bruce Rollinson to start as a freshman since Rollinson took over in 1989.

Why is that such a big deal? Because quarterbacks like Matt Leinart, Colt Brennan and others also played at Mater Dei.

Matt Barkley passed for 3,560 yards and 35 touchdowns during his junior season.
Now a junior, the 6-foot-4, 222-pound Barkley completed 62 percent of his passes for 3,560 yards and 35 touchdowns last season on his way to earning Rivals.com's Junior of the Year Award.

Barkley is already considered one of the greatest quarterbacks at a high school that has produced two quarterbacks who won the Heisman Trophy (John Huarte in 1961 and Leinart in 2004). But to those who know him best, it's neither stats nor awards that make Barkley the best player in the class of 2009. It's much more.

"He's got the God-given arm strength, his vision is impeccable and he has great instincts for the position," said Rollinson of his star quarterback. "But it's his passion for the game and his work ethic that separates him. He studies so much film he even spent time with us learning the pass protection schemes so he'd know where pressure was coming from on each play. It's the little things like that."

Barkley is accumulating honors at a fast clip. In addition to the Rivals.com award, he was the first junior to win the Gatorade Player of the Year award for football.

Signing Day   Discuss: Sound off on best class, players Top recruit Pryor delays decision |  Now what? Pryor from Cradle of QBs  |  OSU-Mich. duel 'Bama, Miami, Notre Dame bounce back Rivals.com: Roll Tide! 'Bama has best class Hansen: Solid class turns up heat on Weis Extra Points: Big chance for Bowden, Clemson SN: Sorting out winners, losers Rivals.com: School, position rankings Rivals.com: Top 100 players  |  Top 250 Rivals.com: USC already locks up top junior Would-be recruit admits he wasn’t duped

"I just love football," Barkley said. "I always wanted to be a quarterback because I like the feeling of control I get with it. I like to know where the ball is going all the time, that's why I don't like defense at all. Defense is for a different kind of personality than mine. I like the mental aspect of quarterback too, and love watching film and being in the weight room. I like everything about it."

His parents, Les and Beverly, see that work ethic every day.

"Matt is very driven and focused," Les Barkley said. "He's focused not just on football, when he focuses on something he gives it his all whether it's academics, football, music – he focuses well on a task. From picking up the guitar and teaching himself to play it to working hard in the weight room and studying film, he's sacrificed a lot to become good."
Mother and father agree.

"People say he's talented because he has the best quarterback coach, we hear that a lot," said his mother Beverly. "But he works so hard it's beyond anything I've ever seen. He sees the long-term goal and delays gratification because he knows what he wants. He's always working whether it's watching film, lifting weights, throwing on weekends to his teammates. He's where he is because he's worked so hard to be there."

Recruiting news Best class belongs to 'Bama School-by-school, position-by-position rankings Breakdown of Top 25 classes  |  Top 5 surprises Pryor leads Top 100 players  |  Top 250 players ACC  |  Big East  |  Big Ten  |  Big 12  |  Pac-10  |  SEC Coaching changes clearly have an impact USC already locks up nation's top junior

Barkley has also remained humble despite all the attention he's receiving. The spotlight began to shine a little brighter when he committed to USC even though he is only halfway through his junior year of high school.

"I first heard about Rivals.com in my sophomore year of high school," he said. "I started checking out other players and watching videos of the top guys. To be mentioned with past (Junior of the Year) winners like Terrelle Pryor, Jimmy Clausen, Percy Harvin and others is pretty ridiculous. It's a great honor."

Rollinson won't go so far as to say that Barkley is the best quarterback he's ever coached, especially with Leinart, Brennan, Billy Blanton, John Flynn and Danny O'Neill playing their high school ball at Mater Dei. But he knows his current quarterback will go down as one of the best.

"What's the point of saying who's the best?" said Rollinson. "Matt will go down in history here as one of the best, and as a four-year starter he's in a different category that way. Matt Leinart started for two years, Billy Blanton 2 ½ years, John Flynn 2 ½ years – none of them started as a true freshman. That speaks to Matt's ability."

Barkley was not just handed the starting job as a freshman, he had to earn it.

"They didn't have an established quarterback so they called up about seven quarterbacks, some were sophomores and some were freshmen and we all competed. It got narrowed down to three of us, and before the first week of the season coach told me I was the starter.

"I was pretty excited, probably too excited for the first game because I was screaming and yelling so much I lost my voice before the game and it was hard to call the signals. The seniors on the team calmed me down and really helped me through it."

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