Ever since he was a boy, Miller Moss dreamed of being USC’s starting quarterback. He followed that dream as a touted prospect into a crowded quarterback room at USC. And he waited three years as a backup, biding his time as many others in his class bolted for the transfer portal instead.
Moss’ chance to lead USC’s offense lasted through one outstanding bowl performance and nine games of an up-and-down season before Moss was replaced by his own backup, and the window at his dream school had closed suddenly.
By Monday morning, three weeks after he was replaced, Moss made it official that he plans to enter the transfer portal, leaving USC after four seasons.
“Being a USC Trojan was a lifelong dream of mine,” he wrote. “I poured everything I have into this — body, heart, mind and soul — and am humbled by and proud of what my teammates and I accomplished, and fought tooth and nail for.”
Through nine games as USC’s starter this season, Moss threw for 2,555 yards and 18 touchdowns, totals that ranked among the best in the Big Ten on paper. But with Moss at the helm, the Trojans’ offense also proved much less dynamic than previous iterations. In all five of USC’s losses, critical mistakes from Moss down the stretch would prove incredibly costly.
The circumstances at USC weren’t exactly ideal for Moss, either. The Trojans offensive line struggled mightily in the first half of the season, while Moss was often asked to do too much to lift the offense. In three different games, he threw 50 passes or more, despite USC having one of the best running backs in the Big Ten in the same backfield.
USC slid to 4-5 with Moss as the starter, before Lincoln Riley opted to take the offense in a different direction. He replaced Moss with Jayden Maiava, a transfer from Nevada Las Vegas, whose dual threat skill set more closely mirrors other quarterbacks who have excelled under Riley.
In an interview with ESPN on Monday, Moss said he’d had “a rough last three weeks” since he was benched. But he expressed gratitude for his four years at USC. Moss will now have one year of eligibility to use elsewhere as a graduate transfer.
It’s possible Moss could stay within the same conference — and perhaps even face off with USC sometime next season. Several Big Ten teams find themselves in serious need of a quarterback. Moss considered Michigan as a recruit and said earlier this season that he’d enjoyed his visit to Ann Arbor. UCLA, in desperate need of a starting caliber quarterback, could even consider making that call.
He first came to USC in January 2021, with Clay Helton as coach and fellow four-star quarterback Jaxson Dart in the same class. But when Riley arrived, Dart and previous starter Kedon Slovis left. Moss stayed, even after Riley brought highly touted transfer Caleb Williams with him from Oklahoma. It would be two more years, as Williams brought home a Heisman Trophy, before Moss was handed the reins.
Moss will have no shortage of suitors now lining up to offer him that shot this offseason in spite of how his tenure ended at USC.
It started on the highest possible note, as Moss led the Trojans to an impressive season-opening win over Louisiana State in which he threw for 378 yards and led a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter. The Tigers’ defense didn’t allow more than 300 yards passing in any game the rest of the season.
In the Holiday Bowl, nine months earlier, he was even better as Moss threw for six touchdowns in a storybook debut win over Louisville.
In the aftermath of that game, as fireworks exploded over the field at Petco Park in San Diego, Moss beamed. Teammates called for his coronation as quarterback, and Riley, in his post-game press conference, joked that Moss had probably scared off any potential transfers anyway.
But a year later, Riley had chose a new direction. Now it was Moss who was leaving USC.
