It is referred to as "Heisman Lane" and for a wide-eyed young quarterback at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif., it can be a launching pad for dreams and an incubator of inspiration.

Exhibits in a glass case at the school’s Meruelo Athletic Complex pay tribute to the Monarchs’ two Heisman Trophy winners — John Huarte (1964 Notre Dame) and Matt Leinart (2004 USC) — and a finalist, Colt Brennan (2007 Hawaii).

"It actually has Huarte’s Heisman Trophy and a replica, I think, of Leinart’s Heisman … and Colt has a bunch of stuff in there, too," said Matt Barkley who, as USC’s starting quarterback, might emerge as the best of the bunch.

"That (the Heisman) is a goal of mine," acknowledges Barkley, who has said, "I always strive to be the greatest player on the field. A goal of mine is to get to the point where I feel like I’m the best player in the country.

"And, if I’m the best, at the top of my game, there’s no reason we shouldn’t be the best team in the country."

Mater Dei is one of two high schools that can claim multiple Heisman Trophy winners (Woodrow Wilson in Dallas is the other) and the Monarchs are, perhaps, the only one with three finalists.

"Mater Dei does have a great tradition of elite football players moving on to the next level and I definitely think I was well prepared and groomed there," Barkley said. "That (the Heisman) is a goal of mine."

"But that," Barkley said, "is down the road some ways, so I’m just focusing (right now) on getting game one (of 2010) out of the way."

That would be the Sept. 2 opener at Aloha Stadium, a place he has come to know something about from time spent with Brennan and watching video of the former Warriors quarterback.

"It will be great to play there; I heard it gets pretty loud," said Barkley, who said he used "to throw with Colt occasionally when he would come back home. I loved watching him. We actually used a lot of what they were doing in our offense from high school, some of their shotgun and some of their quick game because they really did maximize the potential of their receivers. It seemed like they had some great concepts and he shared it with (our) offensive coordinator."

Barkley was a three-year starter for the Monarchs, passing for more yards (9,463) and touchdowns (79) than Leinart and Brennan combined (7,195 and 54).

Last season Barkley became the first true freshman to start the season opener at quarterback for the Trojans and, in his second week, rallied USC to an 18-15 victory over Ohio State before 106,003 in Columbus, Ohio.

Still, from a 9-4 season and 2,735 passing yards, there are loftier goals.

"Last year was unacceptable in terms of what is expected of us here at USC," Barkley said. "And so, I definitely want to improve from last year, be an elite athlete and lead this team to a lot of wins."

For Barkley, that means increasing his touchdown total (15) and cutting down on interceptions (14).

"That definitely goes into it, improving the touchdown-to-interception ratio," Barkley said. "It comes down to better decision making."

Especially if, in time, he wants to add to "Heisman Lane."