Matt BarkleySchool: Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)Coach: Bruce Rollinson
Season: 2005
Under different circumstances, Mater Dei head coach Bruce Rollinson would not have considered starting a freshman at any position. However, two quarterbacks transferred from the Santa Ana school after the 2004 school year, opening the door for the much-ballyhooed Barkley. After he had an impressive summer, Barkley was named the starter and held his own. He completed 126 of 220 passes for 1,685 yards and 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions, as Rollinson watched his young quarterback develop slowly, learning from his mistakes and improving.
"We thought the best kid for us would be Matt Barkley, knowing that we'd have to keep this thing under control and try to build his confidence, give him more offense as he continued to get confidence," Rollinson said. "We knew we had a gem, but we had to do it the right way."
Matt Barkley developed slowly under coach Bruce Rollinson.
Photo by Jann Hendry
