QB Matt Barkley injures his throwing hand during SC's spring game
SC’s Matt Barkley is having his right hand reexamined today after injuring it in Saturday’s spring game. During the 3rd quarter, Barkley struck DT Jurrell Casey’s helmet on his follow through. As a precautionary measure, Barkley was immediately taken out of the game to rest and ice his injured hand. Sheriff Lane Kiffin was displeased with the injury and tossed Casey out of the game for his aggressive play. Though we do not know the extent of Barkley’s injury, it is clear his hand is bothering him enough where he is seeking further evaluation.
At first, there was concern that Barkley re-injured his right wrist. Back in January, he went under the knife to repair ligament damage to the wrist. This concern was quickly dismissed as the school is adamant that his current injury is not related to the prior wrist injury.
Before being benched, Barkley was a mediocre 7 of 16 for 87 yards and 1 TD. With Barkley riding the pine, QB Mitch Mustain seized the opportunity and took over the spotlight. Mustain completed 19 of 29 passes for 299 yards and 5 TDs. He also caught a TD pass from Dillon Baxter out of the wildcat formation.
As we still await word on Barkley’s exact injury, this could open the door for Mustain to take over the top spot. As you recall last season, when Aaron Corp was injured during spring practice, Barkley stepped-in and took over the reigns and never looked back. Though Kiffin says Barkley is the starter, this will certainly keep the QB battle alive and well and will provide fans with ample opportunity to debate who they think is best suited to lead the Trojans come kick-off time.
