NFL Development, ACC Title Contention Played Role in Miller Moss Picking Louisville

The former USC quarterback committed to and signed with the Cardinals this past weekend.

Oct 12, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans quarterback Miller Moss (7) throws a pass against the Penn State Nittany Lions at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - During Jeff Brohm's first two years as the head coach of the Louisville football program, he opted to grab a starting quarterback out of the transfer portal each season. In 2022, it was Jack Plummer from Cal and Purdue. This season, it was Tyler Shough from Texas Tech and Oregon.

For the 2025 season, Brohm will again be utilizing this approach.

This past weekend, Louisville landed another portal starting quarterback, this time being USC's Miller Moss. It's a massive pickup for the Cardinals, as Moss is ranked as the No. 4 quarterback and No. 27 overall player currently in the portal, according to On3's in-house rankings.

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound signal caller started the first nine games of the year, completing 64.4 percent of his passes for 2,555 yards and 18 touchdowns to nine interceptions. Amid USC's 4-5 start to the year, he was then benched in favor of UNLV transfer Jayden Maiava.

Related: What is Louisville Getting in QB Miller Moss?

He might have gotten benched towards the end of the 2024 season, it's not completely indicative of his capabilities. Moss is still a very capable quarterback, and in the right system and with the right supporting cast, he has a chance to flourish.

So what was it that drive Moss to pick Louisville? It mostly came down to Brohm's history when it comes to developing quarterbacks, as well as the opportunity to join a team that has a shot at winning their conference. Being in a family-oriented environment also played into his favor.

"Coach Brohm's ability to consistently put guys in the NFL really stood out to me, Moss said on the 247Sports YouTube show 'The 105.' "I think the opportunity that school has and the way that program has trended in the last couple of years — to go win a conference championship was also really attractive. I think Coach Brohm does a really good job.

"There really were some parallels in terms of my high school situation just with playing with the Clausens. … It's kind of a similar deal with Jeff Brohm being the head coach, and Brian (Brohm) being on staff, and Brady (Brohm) being around the building. It was a real family environment and something that I felt comfortable within."

Plummer is currently on the Carolina Panthers' practice squad, while Shough will very likely hear his name called on day three of the 2025 NFL Draft. Guys like Aidan O'Connell at Purdue and Mike White at Western Kentucky have also gotten to the league while being mentored by Brohm.

Of course, landing Moss wasn't easy for Louisville. They had to fend off an extremely strong effort from Missouri in order to secure his commitment, with Moss even saying his decision "came down to the last hour" before making his decision known on Saturday. Brohm even took the commitment phone call from Moss while he was in attendance of the Louisville-Kentucky men's basketball game.

"It was a really difficult decision," Moss said. "Coach (Eli) Drinkwitz and his staff do a really, really good job there and, like you said, made a heck of an impression. It just really came down to the last hour.

"But like I said, when it came down to it, talking with people that I trust and care about and that I value their opinion, Coach Brohm really consistently putting people in the NFL and his pedigree of doing so is really what kind of moved the needle."

Now that Moss is officially a Cardinal after signing with the program on Sunday, his main goal in what will be his final year in college will be to help deliver Louisville and Brohm their first ACC title.

"I think it would be a tremendous honor to deliver Coach Brohm his first ACC Championship as the head coach of Louisville, and then go on to have success down the road," he said. :Obviously, I've been a part of this for a little bit now, so I understand that stating goals in December doesn't mean a ton and there's a lot of work that goes into that. But I think that would be awesome and really great for the school, the university and obviously the city of Louisville."

(Photo of Miller Moss: Jayne Kamin - Oncea-Imagn Images)

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