Miller Moss’ unexpected journey could lead USC to the College Football Playoff

Being the successor to a No. 1 overall recruit in his class is a tough task. Especially if that No. 1 overall recruit is former USC quarterback Caleb Williams, who was a Heisman winner and was just taken with the first pick in the 2024 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears.

Well, that’s the situation that USC quarterback Miller Moss fell into this offseason.

Moss, a four-star recruit in Class of 2021, has been the overshadowed quarterback at USC throughout his career. He committed to the Trojans back in 2020 under former head coach Clay Helton, but plans changed when Lincoln Riley was hired, as he brought Williams over with him from Oklahoma.

Moss was initially in a quarterback room that included starter Kedon Slovis and 2021 four-star Jaxson Dart, but both signal-callers transferred out when Riley was hired, while the Moss elected to stay at USC and compete behind Williams.

Things became even more complicated when Riley was able to bring over the No. 1 quarterback in the Class of 2023, five-star quarterback Malachi Nelson, as a part of his quarterback recruiting cycle every two years. Nelson had been committed to Oklahoma under Riley and remained committed to the head coach at his new school.

With Williams expected to leave after the 2023 season and Nelson waiting in the wings, it was unclear what the future looked like for Moss, who was already a redshirt sophomore last year.

However, the former four-star wasn’t deterred by the challenge, instead competing and earning the backup job to Williams last year. Then, with Williams opting out of the bowl game, Moss finally got his shot and ran with it, throwing for 372 yards and six touchdowns in USC’s 42-28 win over Louisville in the Holiday Bowl last year.

The muddied quarterback situation at USC cleared up near the end of the year last season, as five-star Malachi Nelson interestingly entered the transfer portal before the bowl game, while Williams entered the draft as expected. That left an opening at quarterback, although it was unclear initially whether the Trojans would entertain a transfer option to compete with Moss, even with his strong performance in the bowl game.

There were a lot of rumors surrounding the Trojans with connections to several transfer quarterbacks, but USC ultimately remained put, instead landing UNLV redshirt sophomore Jayden Maiava to rebalance the numbers following the departures.

Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images

Moss and Maiava competed during the early portion of the offseason for the starting job, but it was clear that the former was going to be the guy for USC this season, with the redshirt junior finally earning his opportunity after a long wait in the shadows.

Now, expectations were high for Moss entering the year, as he was following in Williams’s footsteps and was tasked with leading the way for a USC team that heavily struggled on the defensive end in 2023, leading to a sub-optimal 7-5 regular season record after going 11-3 in 2022.

So, how has the quarterback fared for the Trojans to begin the year?

Well, USC has skyrocketed up the AP Top 25, starting the year strong with a 27-20 upset win over the LSU Tigers where Moss looked the part, tossing for 378 yards and a score, while completing 75 percent of his passes in the road win.

Then, the Trojans blew out Utah State in Week 2 to the tune of 48-0 and Moss wasn’t tasked with doing much, once again completing at least 70 percent of his passes, while throwing for 229 yards and a touchdown in the win.

USC faced their toughest challenge to date in Week 4, as they went up against the daunting Michigan defense, and Moss had his ups and downs. Facing constant pressure behind a makeshift offensive line, the quarterback completed just 28 of 51 passes for 283 yards, three scores and an interception.

Moss, once again, made timely throws and nearly led his team to a victory, but the Trojans fell just short in a 27-24 loss.

Through three games though, Moss and the Trojans look like the real deal as they enter the Big Ten, with the Wisconsin Badgers next up on the docket this weekend.

While Moss has spearheaded the USC offense, creating a quick connection with his bevy of pass-catchers, the Trojans defense has held up as well, which was a big concern in 2023.

That has led USC to a Top 15 ranking through the first four weeks, even with the loss to Michigan, keeping the Trojans firmly in the expanded College Football Playoff picture early in the season.

At 6’1”, 205 pounds, Moss isn’t the most physically imposing quarterback, nor is he the most athletic.

However, it’s clear that he has the sheer confidence needed at the quarterback position, while his teammates are rallying around him, leading to a strong start for USC in 2024. His play will be closely monitored as the season goes along, with the Trojans facing some tough opponents such as Penn State and Notre Dame. It’s been mainly positives for the new face of the USC program, even if it came in an unexpected way.