Matt Barkley

Matthew Montgomery "Matt" Barkley (born September 8, 1990) is an American football quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at USC.

Early years

Barkley was born in Newport Beach, California. He 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 teammates, 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 percent of his passes with nine interceptions. In three seasons, he passed for 6,994 yards and 57 touchdowns.