Matt Barkley seperated his shoulder on Nov. 17 during a 38-28 loss to UCLA. It is ended his season and also possibly the chance to be the No. 1 quarterback drafted in 2013. After Barkley previously denied reports that he will not throw at this year's scouting combine, Adam Shefter of ESPN is confirming that Barkley will not participate in throwing drills at the combine. He will instead take medical tests and may also participate in running and jumping drills.
The decision to not throw has left many to question whether Barkley's shoulder injury was worse than first reported. However, he has been cleared by doctors to throw at his own Pro Day, saying Barkley is about 85-90 percent fully recovered. He been rehabbing his shoulder under the supervision of sports injury doctor James Andrews.
Barkley's shoulder injury became magnified at the end of the season after he was not medically cleared to participate in USC's bowl game. It forced the question of whether or not he made the right decision to come back to USC for his senior season. He was a lock to be a top-10 pick in the 2012 draft class, but Barkley decided to stay one more year and enter the draft when it was less defined by the quarterback position. Analysts have Barkley as the second best quarterback in this year's draft, sitting behind West Viriginia quarterback Geno Smith. Smith has said he will throw at the scouting combine.
Barkley will have his chance to show his skills. His Pro Day will take place at USC in late March and feature heavily scripted throwing sessions with recievers he is already used to working with. Scouts will want to see how much arm strength Barkley has with his repaired shoulder and will certainly ask him to throw a deep ball or two, something he has been known to struggle with.
In 2012, Barkley threw for 36 touchdowns and 3,273 yards. He did have 15 interceptions which was up from his 2011 total of seven. His decision making abilities suffered in 2012 as USC failed to live up to high expectations on the season. This could hurt his chances of getting drafted higher. Barkley will still participate in interviews with NFL teams during the combine. The biggest thing however will be the arm strength. If he can prove that it is still the same after the injury, he should have no issue in the draft, combine or no combine.
