USC Football: Will Either Of Trojans' Caleb Williams Backups Will Be Ready In 2024?

An inevitable question will need to be answered.

USC superstar Caleb Williams remains undecided on his NFL future, but there will soon come a day when he is no longer the Trojans starting QB. 

Such a scenario poses several questions, including who might take his place as the Men of Troy's next signal caller. 

Both Miller Moss and Malachi Nelson will battle for consideration next season, but Trojans Wire's Matt Zemek remained bullish on the former's chances. 

Miller Moss is better this year than he was last year, but will he be good enough in 2024 to deliver championship-level results if the offensive line is anything less than great? It’s not Miller Moss’s fault that the offensive line has regressed in 2023. However, Lincoln Riley has a situation where Moss might not be the quarterback USC needs to deal with LSU, Notre Dame, and a loaded Big Ten schedule. USC fans know how loyal Miller Moss has been to the program. They know he has been a good teammate and a superb representative of the university. Yet, that doesn’t guarantee him the QB1 spot for 2024. Winning, not being a good guy, should determine who the starting quarterback is.

via Trojans Wire, Matt Zemek

Trojan fans witnessed just how ugly the team's offensive line is after their defeat to Notre Dame last weekend. 

If the line was a problem for Williams' superstar talents, Zemek wonders how Moss or even Nelson might struggle with those conditions next season. 

[Malachi] Nelson might be a special talent, but he is behind Moss on the depth chart and in terms of overall familiarity with the USC offense. If Moss isn’t ready to be a championship quarterback in 2024, Nelson is even less ready. Given how daunting next year’s schedule is, Riley probably doesn’t have the luxury of thinking he can ride with Moss or Nelson and let the chips fall where they may. 



via Trojans Wire, Matt Zemek

Lincoln Riley has quite the question ahead of him, and the fate of his job next season may rest on his ability to pick a proven passer either on the roster right now or through the portal. 

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