USC Football: Matt Barkley to Lead Trojans into Haiti This Offseason

Plenty have talked about Matt Barkley's social media-savvy ways. Obviously, we all know the senior is now the front-runner in the 2012  Heisman race.

We can now also add social conscious humanitarian to the list for the quarterback.

In the fall, Barkley will be leading the Trojans into football games in search of a title, but before that time comes, he'll be leading USC on another endeavor. The captain is leading 14 other Trojans down to Haiti this offseason to aid in the ongoing relief effort.

The movement was spearheaded by the Barkley family, but his teammates quickly picked up the call to head down with Hope Force International to lend a hand. The group of players will be building at least three houses plus transporting supplies to orphanages and schools to help the people of Haiti. It's a great cause, and like we've seen from so many charity and relief efforts from players as of late, these guys are more than just the football machines we watch on Saturdays.

Included in that group of 15 are All-Americans TJ McDonald and Robert Woods, Barkley's good friend and roommate, Khaled Holmes, and both of the young men battling to be USC's back-up quarterback in 2012. Great to see these young men giving up the creature comforts of sunny SoCal to put in the man hours in order to help those less fortunate than themselves.

This work blitz is a big undertaking for the Trojans and Hope Force, and to help their cause, you can donate by clicking here.

Football is a fantastic game, but it is nice to see the guys that fans watch on the weekends turn off the game and get their hands dirty for a good cause.