Lincoln Riley talks USC quarterback situation coming out of spring ball

The USC Trojans are set to replace one of the faces of college football over the past few seasons as quarterback Caleb Williams moves on to the NFL as likely the No. 1 overall pick. USC fans got a glimpse of the future last December when Miller Moss stepped in as the starter against Louisville in the Holiday bowl and threw for 372 yards and six touchdowns. But that one game represents 40% of Moss’ career passing yards and 66% of his career touchdown passes, leaving still at least a hint of an unknown quality regarding the position heading into the 2024 season.

The buzz coming out of USC’s spring game will be the four interceptions thrown by USC quarterbacks, including two by Moss. But the overall feeling at quarterback for the Trojans right now is very positive. Head coach Lincoln Riley said Moss came out to start the spring with two practices that weren’t his best, but that changed quickly.

“After that, he was really lights out the entire spring,” Riley said. “Just steady, really good decisions, and he’s played at a high level.”

Moss chalked that up to needing to shift his focus just a bit from himself to the entire offense.

Riley said that despite the two interceptions in the spring game, he felt Moss would likely grade out very highly due to making just one bad decision. Moss finished the game 16-for-21 for 133 yards, one touchdown and the two picks. Riley is typically hesitant to name a starter at any position this far from the beginning of the season. But he was clear where that quarterback competition between Moss and transfer addition Jayden Maiava stands at the moment.

“He’s certainly ahead right now,” Riley said of Moss. “There’s not a question about that.”

But Riley left the door open for a possible charge by Maiava this summer and into the fall. Coaches are always going to push competition and it would be a significant surprise if there is a shuffle in the depth chart at that position. But Maiava has far more college playing experience under his belt, and will continue to get more time in this offense.

“Jayden is improving rapidly as he learns it and I think it’s going to continue to provide great competition in the room,” Riley said. “He, like a lot of new guys, came out of the blocks really strong. He had a little bit of a lull in the middle of it, then I thought finished the spring really strong.”

After losing two five-star quarterbacks this season with Williams departing for the NFL and freshman Malachi Nelson leaving for Boise State via the transfer portal, there were questions about how the depth chart would shake out and how strong this position would be from top to bottom. It wasn’t that long ago that it looked like former Kansas State quarterback Will Howard could be the USC starter in 2024. But the Trojans clearly feel this position can be a strength this season and Riley has set it up well. He also consistently includes No. 3 quarterback Jake Jensen in every discussion of the position.

“We’re excited about the room,” Riley said. “All those guys are going to continue to evolve as we grade spring, as we go through summer and as we get into fall camp. Guys aren’t going to be the same players as they were today. As that happens, we’ll certainly lean in on the right guy and we’ve got several guys in the room that we feel like can do it.”