Lincoln Riley: Miller Moss is 'certainly ahead' in USC quarterback battle
This offseason, USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley is facing the difficult challenge of replacing Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams at quarterback. Naturally, the topic of that quarterback competition came up following the USC Spring Game.
Lincoln Riley wasn’t ready to name a starting quarterback just yet. However, there does appear to be a pecking order with Riley saying that Miller Moss has begun to separate himself in the USC quarterback battle despite a couple of interceptions in the Spring Game.
“He made one bad decision today and then the one play he threw a good ball and it’s part of playing football,” Lincoln Riley said. “Shoot, he’ll probably grade out pretty darn high for the day. So, we don’t want the one bad one, but when you play enough snaps it’s going to happen from time to time, and it’s good for him to feel a little bit of both.”
Miller Moss came to USC in the Class of 2021, where he was a four-star recruit and the 11th-ranked quarterback recruit overall, according to the On3 Industry Ranking.
He started the Holiday Bowl for USC in place of Caleb Williams who opted out for the NFL Draft. In that game, he was dominant, throwing for 372 yards and six touchdowns to only one interception in a 42-28 win. It was an excellent performance, but Lincoln Riley pointed to how he handled the interception as being the most impressive.
“I mean, like 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. 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 no — there’s not a question about that.”
As a head coach, Lincoln Riley has always had a deep quarterback room. That’s no different at USC, with transfer quarterback Jayden Maiava and redshirt junior Jake Jensen competing for the job as well.
“Now, Jayden is improving rapidly as he learns it and I think is going to continue to provide great competition in the room. I’ve been really pleased with the way Jake has handled the snaps that we’ve given him. 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 said.
“That’s not a surprise with the number of snaps he’s had in this system. So, all those guys are gonna continue to evolve as we grade Spring, 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 on the right guy and we’ve got several guys in the room we feel like can do it.”
Lincoln Riley does have time to make his decision, with USC playing its first game on September 1st, against LSU.