Spring Insider: Q&A with Matt Barkley

Five questions with Matt Barkley:

Question: Who is the NFL player you see yourself playing like?
Matt Barkley: I try to model my play off of Tom Brady, the way he plays, the way he studies the game. I think he’s an athlete, a student of the game. He leads his team when they’re down. The composure and poise that he has, I look up to him.

Q: What is your favorite thing to do, your favorite part of the game?
MB: Throwing touchdowns. The ones where you have to thread it, a tight squeeze, not a lot of room for error. You just stick it in there.

Q: You won just about every award last season, from the county’s Offensive Player of the Year to Gatorade’s National Player of the Year. What are your personal goals this season?
MB: Last year I didn’t set personal goals like that. I just focused on the team and that all came with it. They mean a lot to me, all those trophies, but that’s not why I play football. I’ll focus on the team and what we’re doing and those will all come to me.

Q: Has all the attention ever felt like too much?
MB: It comes with the job. The Mater Dei quarterback is one of the well-known players in the county because of what this school is. I can’t do anything about it, though I don’t think it’s that bad. My parents keep my head on straight.

Q: What is something people don’t know about you?
MB: I play guitar. I’ve been playing for about seven years. I’ll play for girls sometimes, some nice acoustic songs.

• Related: Matt Barkley bio, photos, videos and stats

Contact the writer: amaya@ocregister.com