Matt Barkley Will Finish Senior Year With USC Trojans

Good news for USC fans on Thursday as star QB and upcoming senior Matt Barkley has bypassed a potential top-10 selection in the NFL draft to chase down a championship with the Trojans.

Barkley announced his intentions while head coach Lane Kiffin and his family were in attendance. During his decision making announcement he sounded like a matured quarterback, saying he feels prepared for the NFL but still had unfinished business to complete with his home of the last three seasons.

Along with Barkley the Trojans will welcome back three top receivers and their top rusher along with four starting offensive lineman.

In his statement Matt revealed:

“This 2012 team has some serious unfinished business to attend to and I plan to play a part in it,” while adding, “I have firmly decided to forgo the 2012 NFL draft and finish that.”

In a fitting presentation Barkley stood in front of USC’s six Heisman trophies at his back as he thanked hundreds of fans as the schools marching band played in celebration of his announcement.

When discussing his decision Barkley said he spent a lot of time talking with former USC athletes, NFL experts and NFL athletes that all validated his belief that he should stay at the school .

His maturity showed as he noted:

“I am not postponing my dream of playing in the NFL just so that I can have one more year of college life, I am staying because I want to finish what I started.”

During the 2011 season the schools QB completed 3,528 yards for 39 touchdowns with seven interceptions, leading the Trojans to a 10-2 season and 5th overall finish in the Associated Press Top 25 ranking.

If he would have chosen to go professional in April’s NFL Draft he would have likely been the second quarterback selected behind only Stanford’s Andrew Luck.

Do you think the USC Trojans have a shot at a first place finish next year with Matt Barkley and various other veteran starters returning to the teams lineup?