Miller Moss Deserves USC's 2024 Starting Quarterback Job

QB1 is his to lose.

Redshirt USC Trojans sophomore quarterback Miller Moss is in a great spot. He trusted the process and is reaping the rewards of his hard work. After Lincoln Riley brought Caleb Williams with him from Oklahoma, Moss could have jumped ship. Instead, he leaned into the adversity and bet on himself. 

Two seasons of sitting on the bench later, Moss's number was called on December 27th in the Holiday Bowl. He put together one of the best performances by a USC quarterback in recent memory, throwing for six touchdowns in his first start since he was at Bishop Alemany High School. 

A four-star prospect (per 247Sports) coming out of high school, Moss was a coveted recruit. While not the dual threat that Caleb Williams is, Moss plays smart and took good care of the football on his way to that 42-28 Holiday Bowl win over Louisville. 

If USC's season started tomorrow, there's no question Moss would be QB1. However, Lincoln Riley has been vocal about his desire to bring in at least one, ideally, two (a younger and an older guy) quarterbacks via the transfer portal this offseason. He accomplished that goal in part when they landed the transfer of UNLV freshman Jayden Maiava, who threw for over 3,000 yards and 17 touchdowns and ran for 277 yards and three touchdowns in his freshman season last year. 

The case to start Moss in 2024 is clear and strong. Familiarity with the playbook, familiarity with teammates, and a small but potent sample size of what USC's offense will look like with Moss under center. 

So, worth asking is what would need to happen for Moss to get beat out of the QB1 role in 2024. The answer is simple. Jayden Maiava, or another transfer, would need to absolutely knock the socks off Riley and his staff during spring ball and fall camp. Let's focus on Maiava first.

As it stands, Maiava has loads more game experience in college than Moss does. Maiava also has an edge over Moss in terms of mobility. Where Maiava needs to prove his worth is in his decision-making from inside the pocket and pre-snap coordination. If Maiava can master Riley's system in practice, he might represent a more explosive option for Riley. 

Former UNLV QB Jayden Maiava should look very comfortable in Lincoln Riley's system at USC

FULL VIDEO 📹: https://t.co/ZINlPmHPah pic.twitter.com/1ilVlOZg1o

— JustBombsProductions (@JBP_Official) January 12, 2024

The only other likely scenario where Moss doesn't end up as QB1 in 2024 would be if Riley could sign another transfer quarterback in the spring transfer portal window in April. However, the advantage that Moss would have on a late transfer into USC would be quite substantial as the transfer would have just four or so months to learn the same things that Moss has spent over two seasons studying and practicing.

But if anybody has the reputation and ability to attract and develop quarterbacks, it's Lincoln Riley.