Barely one day after he’d officially realized his lifelong dream of being named USC’s starting quarterback, Miller Moss was already ready to put his childhood triumph in the rearview mirror.
“It’s hard in what we do to stop and smell the roses,” Moss said on Tuesday. “I mean, obviously, it was a goal I set for myself a long time ago, and I’m happy I accomplished that. But I don’t think it’s necessarily about that now. It’s about going and winning games.”
USC coach Lincoln Riley made a point Tuesday to note that Moss didn’t run away with the job after entering camp with a significant lead over Nevada Las Vegas transfer Jayden Maiava.
Riley characterized USC’s starting quarterback competition as “neck-and-neck” and credited Maiava for making “a major, major jump” since spring.
“But just consistently,” Riley said, “Miller was still the best and the guy we feel like gives this team the best chance to win and play well.”
Riley shared the news with Moss in a one-on-one meeting Monday. By the time he made it to the practice field for walk-throughs, the whole team already knew.
His ascent to the starting role had been widely expected since December, when Moss threw six touchdowns to lead USC to a resounding victory in the Holiday Bowl. Still, even with his standout performance, Moss said, it took him time to find his stride as the leader of USC’s offense.
“There was a learning curve for me that I didn’t necessarily expect,” he said.
Maiava faced an even steeper curve, having just picked up Riley’s offense in the spring. But the 6-foot-4 redshirt sophomore “improved drastically” since then, the coach said.
Enough, at least, that Riley said he’d be “extremely comfortable” if Maiava had to take over the offense.
“He’s got a bright future here,” Riley said. “No doubt about that.”
For now, the present belongs to Moss, USC’s new QB1. Even if he refuses to bask in the afterglow of his big moment.
“It’s a tremendous honor,” Moss said. “But at the end of the day, I think it’s more about what you do with it than just being named the starter.”
USC guard competition continues
While the starting quarterback is finally official, the “wide open” battle at right guard remains “not quite decided” as preseason camp winds down this week.
Riley is still debating between sophomore Alani Noa and redshirt freshman Amos Talalele at the Trojans’ open interior spot, while redshirt senior Gino Quinones is “finally full go” but still being brought back slowly from a knee injury he suffered last season.
Before he makes a final decision, Riley said he still wanted to see more of Talalele, who had been in and out of camp with a minor injury. In his stead, Noa took most of the reps with the first-team offense.
The 335-pound sophomore remains the favorite to step into the starting role, but that might not be official until just before USC’s September opener with Louisiana State.
“Amos is putting up a fight,” Noa said. “I feel like he’s going to be great.”
New USC staff titles
In light of the NCAA removing the cap on coaches capable of providing on-field instruction, USC finally has a special teams coordinator.
Ryan Dougherty, who has spent the last two seasons as a special teams analyst, was one of three quality control and graduate assistants promoted by Riley to USC’s full-time coaching staff, marking the first time Riley has ever had an on-field coach tending to special teams.
“He’s more heavily involved, and I think that’s an advantage for us because he’s really good at what he does,” Riley said. “He deserves it. Honestly, a long time coming for him.”
Joining Dougherty on the full-time staff is Taylor Mays, the former All-American Trojans safety, who was elevated from quality control assistant to assistant defensive backs coach, and Zach Crabtree, who was promoted from graduate assistant to assistant offensive line coach.
