By: USCTrojans.com
USC senior quarterback Matt Barkley has been named the 2012 winner of the Wuerffel Trophy, given to the college football player who best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement.
The award, presented annually since 2005 by the All-Sports Association of Fort Walton Beach (Fla.), is named after former Florida and NFL quarterback Danny Wuerffel, the 1996 Heisman Trophy winner who is recognized for his humanitarian and community service efforts.
Barkley will be presented with the Wuerffel Trophy at the All-Sports Association’s annual banquet on Feb. 8, 2013, at the Emerald Coast Convention Center in Fort Walton Beach.
Previous Wuerffel Trophy winners have included Florida’s Tim Tebow (2008), Texas’ Sam Acho (2010) and Alabama’s Barrett Jones (2011).
“Not only is Matt a phenomenal quarterback, he’s also an exceptional person,” said Wuerffel. “From the things he has done off the field to the way that he’s given of himself completely, he deserves every honor that comes his way. I’m proud to welcome him and he will be a fine member of the Wuerffel Trophy family.”
Barkley, a four-year starter and USC’s first-ever 3-year captain, currently has completed 246-of-387 passes (63.6%) for 3,273 yards and 36 TDs in 2012. He also was a finalist for the Unitas Golden Arm Award and Manning Award, and a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award and Davey O’Brien Award. He is a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award and the ARA Sportsmanship Award.
He also was a Wuerffel finalist in 2011.
The communication major with a 3.21 GPA was named a 2012 National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete. He and 15 of his USC teammates spent five days in Haiti in the spring of 2012 building homes and assisting those in need. He spent 11 days during 2010 Christmas break in Nigeria visiting orphans, widows, villagers and prisoners, doing construction work, distributing supplies and gifts and sharing daily fellowship.
He owns 20 USC career, season and game records, 10 of which are Pac-12 marks. He is the Pac-12 career recordholder for total offense (12,214), passing yards (12,327), completions (1,001), touchdown passes (116) and rushing/passing TDs (122) and is the only player in league history to have 4 years of 2,500 yards of total offense.
He has thrown at least 1 TD pass in 42 of his 47 career games, at least 2 TDs in 30 games, at least 3 TDs in 21 games, at least 4 TDs 11 times and at least 5 TDs 8 times (the only Trojan to have done so), including 4 times with a school record 6 TDs. He has thrown for at least 200 yards in 32 career games (a school record 15 times over 300 yards, as well as a school record 4 times over 400 yards). He has 47 career starts (he is 34-13 as a starter).
In 2012, he threw a USC record-tying 6 touchdowns against Syracuse and Colorado, he completed a Pac-12 record 95% of his passes (19-of-20) against Colorado, he threw for 493 yards and had 497 yards of total offense (both USC records) at Arizona and he completed a USC record-tying 35 passes against Oregon.