Lincoln Riley evaluates Miller Moss' spring performance

USC wrapped up its spring schedule on Saturday, where the defensive squad would go on to defeat the Trojan offense 43-28 as Lincoln Riley’s squad continues to adjust to life post-Caleb Williams.

Quarterback Miller Moss finished the spring game by completing 16-of-21 passes for 133 yards with one touchdown and a pair of interceptions. Riley addressed Moss’ performance in the scrimmage after the game.

“He made one bad decision today, and the one play, I mean, he threw a good ball and it’s part of playing football,” Riley said. “So no, shoot, he’ll probably grade out pretty darn high for the day. We don’t want the one bad [throw], but when you play enough snaps it’s going to happen from time to time. It’s good for him to feel a little bit of both.

“One of the things I was most proud of in the bowl game was when he threw the pick, we came back and he was lights out after that. And so, it’s just part of playing the position. But he’s been awesome. We’re going to go back and certainly evaluate the whole thing. He’s certainly ahead right now. There’s not a question about that.”

Elsewhere in the quarterback room, redshirt sophomore Jayden Maiava went 15-of-17 for 172 yards with a touchdown and one interception, while redshirt junior Jake Jensen went 6-of-8 for 91 yards while also throwing an interception.

However, the spring game won’t always be indicative of how the Trojans’ quarterback battle may eventually play out. Riley was blunt when mentioning where he stands when it comes to eventually naming a starter.

“We’re in a position right now where we don’t have to decide a starter, but if we played today it would certainly be Miller,” Riley continued. “Obviously, that’s no surprise with the number of snaps he’s had in this system. All those guys are going to continue to evolve as we grade spring, as we go through summer, as we get into fall camp — guys aren’t going to be the same players as they were right now today. So as that happens, we’ll certainly lean in on the right guy and we’ve got several guys in the room that we feel can do it.”

Riley also noted that he believes Saturday’s turnover-heavy offense is less on the offense and more on his team’s defensive improvements, saying that good defenses make things tough on offenses and can prey on offensive mistakes.

The next time USC will be in action won’t be until Sept. 1 when they meet LSU in the season opener.