Barkley is Gatorade’s national player of the year

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There isn’t a bigger award for a high school football player these days than Gatorade’s national football player of the year, and junior quarterback Matt Barkley of Santa Ana Mater Dei became the first non-senior to receive the prestigious honor this morning during a ceremony at Mater Dei.

The award has been given for three decades, and it goes to a player for athletic excellence who also is exemplary in the classroom and off the field. Barkley fits the profile, having passed for 3,576 yards and 35 touchdowns while also maintaing a 3.77 grade-point average.

Former Mater Dei standout Matt Leinart also won the award during his senior year. Barkley is considered the No. 1 quarterback prospect in the nation for the Class of 2009, and this award will bring more attention to him than perhaps any underclassmen in the Southland in recent years, including Jimmy Clausen, who received plenty while at Westlake Village Oaks Christian.

What’s impressive about Barkley is that he just goes about his business, always being respectful and humble. His leadership is unquestioned. And he’s a great kid.

-- Eric Sondheimer

-- Image by Susan Goldman/Mater Dei High School