Matt Barkley: Latest Twitter Reaction to Barkley's NFL Draft Decision

Today is the day when Matt Barkley will let the world know whether he is going to go pro and declare for the NFL Draft or stay in school and become a USC legend.

Stay, and Barkley would be the early favorite to win the Heisman, have a chance to go to a bowl for the first time in his collegiate career, have a shot at accomplishing what others' actions prohibited him from accomplishing and ultimately going down in USC lore as one of the most loyal and dedicated Trojans of all time.

Go to the NFL, and he's a lock to go in the top 10. He may not be Andrew Luck, but quarterback-starved teams are going to be lined up around the building for a shot at the polished QB.

He's been a starter since he was a true freshman. One more year would allow him to finish what he started, though it's tough to resist the temptation to go pro.

We all saw Andrew Luck shock the world and give Stanford one more year. On the day that we'll decide what Barkley's future holds, Twitter has exploded as the world awaits his announcement.

Update: Thursday, December 22nd at 4:50 p.m. EST

Matt Leinart congratulated Barkley on his decision. Leinart made a similar decision, bypassed his shot at being the No. 1 overall pick in the draft and ended up slipping to the Cardinals the following season.

His Twitter background is him as a Trojan, which was the last time he garnered respect in the football world.

Update: Thursday, December 22nd at 4:45 p.m. EST

Pete Carroll speaks about the commitment to the university that Barkley has put on display. Irony at it's finest.

Update: Thursday, December 22nd at 4:40 p.m. EST

ESPN's Rece Davis has the right idea. Nobody could have faulted Barkley for leaving, but it's refreshing to see a guy return in the manner that he did. What a win for college football.

Update: Thursday, December 22nd at 4:37 p.m. EST

CBS' Pete Prisco is playing Grinch to the feel-good sports story of the holiday season.

Update: Thursday, December 22nd at 4:33 p.m. EST

According to CBS Sports, an NFL Scout called Barkley's choice a "foolish business decision." Something tells me his finances will be just fine.

Update: Thursday, December 22nd at 4:29 p.m. EST

It's unclear who will head into the 2012 season as the No. 1 team in the nation, but as Yahoo!'s Pat Forde points out, USC has to be on the short list.

Update: Thursday, December 22nd at 4:10 p.m. EST

Barkley will have to return without the aide of the best left tackle in the nation. Bleacher Report's Josh Martin does his best Matt Kalil impersonation.

Update: Thursday, December 22nd at 4:06 p.m. EST

As anticipated, Barkley is staying at USC. Carson Cunningham of KOCO-TV Channel points to the implications this decision will have on Landry Jones' decision.

Update: Thursday, December 22nd at 4:01 p.m. EST

Barkley's view when he takes the podium, Tweeted by USC's athletic department.

Update: Thursday, December 22nd at 3:51 p.m. EST

The AP's Ralph Drusso says the USC band is on hand. ESPN's Arash Markazi says USC Song Girls have arrived. Anybody still wondering how this press conference is going to go down?

Update: Thursday, December 22nd at 3:20 p.m. EST

Twitter makes it impossible to keep anything a secret anymore. The New York Times' Pete Thamel says Barkley has already told his teammates that he's staying.

Update: Thursday, December 22nd at 3:09 p.m. EST

Bleacher Report's very own David Daniels contends that although Barkley's got a "Decision" of his own airing today, he won't be turning into the next LeBron.

Update: Thursday, December 22nd at 2:03 p.m. EST

NFL Network's Albert Breer sheds some light on how NFL execs feel about Barkley. High praise that suggests that a team could fall in love with him if he chose to come out.

Update: Thursday, December 22nd at 1:59 p.m. EST

NFL Network's Albert Breer adds to the notion that Barkley will be staying at USC for another season.

Update: Thursday, December 22nd at 1:56 p.m. EST

Unless some wild turn of events transpires between now and the press conference, Football Writers Association of America writer and former D1 coach Scott Enyeart says Barkley will be returning to SC.

Update: Thursday, December 22nd at 1:49 p.m. EST

At this point, it's going to be a surprise if Barkley doesn't return to USC. Tweets suggesting otherwise are few and far between and ESPN's Adam Schefter isn't hearing any different.

Update: Thursday, December 22nd at 1:44 p.m. EST

The Daily's Dan Wolken calls the notion that Barkley will be staying in school "silliness", despite experts who are in the know suggesting otherwise.

Update: Thursday, December 22nd at 1:37 p.m. EST

The USC athletic department Tweeted this picture of the press conference set. Will Barkley bring home another Heisman next season and make USC's Christmas wishes come true by staying another season?

SI's Stewart Mandel seems to think Barkley is going to announce that he's giving USC another go.

CBS' Bruce Feldman says every USC person he's spoken to says they think he's staying. Unwarranted optimism or insider info? Time will tell.

USCTrojans.com say they are live streaming the Heritage Hall press conference at 1 p.m. Pacific time.

Press conference will also be shown on NFL Network.

ESPN's Erin Andrews wants Barkley to stay. That alone should be enough for him to keep it going for one more year.

The Big Lead's Jason McIntyre points to the havoc this is going to cause mock drafts that have been done to this point. Interestingly enough, he omitted Barkley from his, believing the QB will stay in school.

Check back for more Twitter updates surrounding Matt Barkley's decision.