Matt Barkley: USC QB Certain to Enter 2012 Draft After Filing NFL Paperwork

According to ESPN Los Angeles, USC Trojans star QB Matt Barkley has filed paperwork with the NFL draft advisory board to get some input on where he will be selected in the draft next April.

That is, if he decides to make himself eligible.

It is completely apparent now, if it wasn’t quite obvious before, that he is going to make the leap to the pros and be a part of the 2012 NFL Draft class.

It’s almost funny that Barkley is trying to be coy about this and say that the decision hasn’t been made yet.

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"Don't think too quickly. I think it's something that every top recruit, or potential draftee does before thinking about going out. It's just a kind of evaluation, I don't think it's even that detailed. Just listing a potential round that you'd go in," Barkley said on SportsCenter Wednesday night.

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Potential round that you’d go in, huh, Barkley?

It’s pretty damn obvious that you are going to be selected in the first round unless some real crazy stuff goes down.

This is nothing more than a publicity stunt for USC, whose season is now over due to playoff ineligibility stemming from scandals from years past.

Barkley keeps his name and the program's name in the news a bit longer by making people debate whether or not he will enter the draft.

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"As of now, I'm still 50-50. I haven't decided. I haven't even begun that process of looking at either side. I'm still enjoying this season, enjoying last week's win against UCLA. Starting next week, I'll really dive into that. I still have some school left and some finals. So once those get out of the way and I can focus on the decision, that's where my attention will be,"

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He even says he is 50-50 on the decision. Is there a more a perfect way to keep people talking about him since it’s a "coin flip" right now?

He needs to shut up, realize his season is over and start preparing for the pros.

We all know he is going to get drafted early and get paid millions of dollars to lead a franchise next year.

Let’s hope he’s capable of that and doesn’t turn out to be the next smug jerk like Jimmy Clausen who can’t accomplish anything.