Matt Barkley threw an interception at USC’s spring practice. In fact, he’s thrown seven of them, in eight practices. The Los Angeles media considered this fact to be, in the words of the immortal Teague Egan, crucial.

From the LA Times:

The interceptions are just one sign that this spring hasn’t been business as usual for Barkley, who announced in December that he would return for his final season with the Trojans.

From America’s favorite pollster and cheerleader aficionado Scott Wolf:

“It’s abnormal for him,” Kiffin said. “He gets frustrated without the normal (receivers) in there and throws the ball down field. We’ll get him out of it.”

Kiffin joked he was not concerned about Barkley struggling.

“He can still declare for the supplemental draft. I can’t get too mad yet,” Kiffin said. “(And) he’s already shown phenomenal ball control (in the past).”

From ESPN:

The guy who had the best touchdown-to-interception ratio in the Pac-12 last season is tossing a few more picks during spring ball than his coach would like to see. But USC coach Lane Kiffin isn’t too worried about quarterback Matt Barkley, who has thrown seven interceptions in eight practices. No expletives are being hurled, no panic buttons being pushed.

From the Orange County Register:

Kiffin described Barkley’s spring interceptions as “abnormal” because he did such a good job of avoiding them last season. Barkley had 39 touchdown passes and only seven interceptions during the 2011 season.

How many throws did Barkley make? Were these in drills? Scrimmages? Was he making reads or throwing to designated receivers? Was he hurt? This story is left intentionally vague, as though diving further would invalidate its premise, that this is somehow important.

We do receive a bit of context, that Barkley is being given fewer reps and he’s irked about his best receivers being injured. If that’s the case, why not write about how USC plans to cope with injuries? The injuries (a) have a tangible relevance to football next season and (b) present the most pressing challenge for USC to win the BCS title next season.