Matt Barkley led the first-unit offense in last night's scrimmage alongside two players who are a stunning six years his elder.
Sixth-year lineman Jeff Byers protected the quarterback on the offensive line and sixth-year safety Josh Pinkard was facing the 18-year-old freshman across the line of scrimmage. When the two super-super-seniors were in their first seasons at USC -- playing for the 2004 national title in the Orange Bowl against Oklahoma -- Barkley was in eighth grade.
Yes, that's eighth grade, while Pinkard was recording two tackles and recovering a fumble to set up a touchdown and Byers was logging plenty of snaps en route to a 55-19 national title-clinching victory against the Sooners.
Both Pinkard and Byers played in all 13 games as freshmen in 2004. Meanwhile, Barkley started as a quarterback and safety for the Mission Viejo Cowboys, a Junior All-American team that made it to the semifinals of the L.A. and Orange County area.
"That's crazy," Barkley said of the age gap.
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