As cameras and reporters swarmed Matt Barkley after Thursday's practice, the offensive linemen acted on instinct.

They saw a swarm gathering around their quarterback and reacted the best way they could.

Instead of throwing a cut block, they broke their huddle with a message: "Leave Matt Barkley alone!"

While that got a good laugh out of USC's new No. 1 quarterback, it did force Barkley to recognize someone else's efforts.

"You have to give credit to the o-line over there," Barkley said smiling.

It was really a perfect storm of events that led up to Thursday's announcement that Barkley would be the first true freshman to start a season opener at quarterback in USC's history.


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