High School Career
Barkley attended Mater Dei High School of Santa Ana, California. In 2005, he became the first freshman quarterback to start at Mater Dei High School since Todd Marinovich. As a freshman he passed for 1,685 yards and 10 touchdowns, but suffered a season-ending injury (broken collarbone) during the playoffs in a quarter-final win over Colton High School. The injury was caused by future USC teammate, running back Allen Bradford, who played linebacker in high school.
His high school coach, Bruce Rollinson, permitted him to call his own plays, something he had never allowed a player to do during two decades at Mater Dei. As a sophomore, he passed for 1,349 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2006. Barkley passed for 3,576 yards and 35 touchdowns in 2007, completing 63% of his passes with nine interceptions. In three seasons, he passed for 6,994 yards and 57 TDs.
As a top high school player, he was heavily recruited. On January 23, 2008, Barkley verbally committed to USC, ending speculation that he might join UCLA, which had just hired coaches Rick Neuheisel and Norm Chow. Barkley's father, Les Barkley, was an All-American water polo player at USC from 1976–79. He made his decision more than a year before his National Signing Day, telling his family and coaches and then calling USC coach Pete Carroll on his cell phone. The previous quarterback to go to USC from Mater Dei was Heisman Trophy-winner Matt Leinart (the school had also graduated fellow Heisman winner John Huarte). After committing to USC, Barkley began recruiting other elite high school players to join him.
His 2008 senior season started slow, with Barkley throwing nearly as many interceptions as touchdown passes and the Monarchs barely keeping above .500; however his performance turned around and Mater Dei rallied to 7–3 and entered the playoffs. The Monarchs made it to the quarterfinal, falling to Tesoro High School and ending the season 8–4. Barkley finished his Mater Dei career as the all-time passing yardage leader in Orange County, surpassing the record set by Todd Marinovich in 1987. He graduated from high school on December 18, 2008.
On January 4, 2009, Barkley participated in the 2009 Under Armour All-America Game at the Florida Citrus Bowl. After a strong performance, where he completed 11-of-22 passes for 237 yards and two touchdowns and led the White team to a 27–16 victory over the Black team, he was named the game's co-MVP. Soon afterward, he was moved back to the number one high school prospect in America by ESPN, having dropped to tenth during his senior season.
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | 40‡ | Commit date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Barkley Quarterback |
Santa Ana, California | Mater Dei High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 226 lb (103 kg) | 4.7 | Jan 23, 2008 |
| Scout: Rivals: | ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 1 (QB) Rivals: 1 (QB), 5 (National), 1 (CAL) | ||||||
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