Southern California junior quarterback Matt Barkley will announce whether or not he'll enter the 2012 NFL Draft at a news conference today at 4 p.m. Obviously, there will be some serious onlookers.
2012 NFL Draft: All eyes on Matt Barkley’s decision today
Foremost among those interested in Barkley’s decision are the Cleveland Browns, Miami Dolphins and Washington Redskins. Each will be drafting high and possibly looking for a quarterback. If Barkley doesn’t come out, it pushes up the price in a trade up to draft Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin. That means the Minnesota Vikings and St. Louis Rams will be closely monitoring the situation as they’ll hold the second and third picks.
Griffin, of course, would have to declare for the draft himself. The current feeling is that Griffin may return for his senior season.
But what does the Trojans quarterback do? Speculation right now is going both ways. Adam Schefter of ESPN noted on SportsCenter today that some in the NFL expect Barkley to stay in school. Beto Duran of ESPN Radio, who has covered Barkley since he was in ninth grade, expects Barkley to go pro. Tony Pauline of Sports Illustrated/NFL Draft Insider expects Barkley to stay in school.
Former Trojans quarterback Matt Leinart, who is among the people Barkley has consulted, expects Barkley to return to school. Leinart made the decision to stay at USC, a decision which some say stopped him from being the top pick in the draft.
What makes it curious is that USC will stream the news conference live on their website. Why do that if Barkley is simply going to enter the draft? Needless to say, we may not know until 4 p.m.
In addition to it streaming it on the USC site, NFL Network will also air Barkley’s press conference.
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