Lincoln Riley addresses changes between Caleb Williams, Miller Moss at quarterback

USC head coach Lincoln Riley has been known for getting the absolute most out of his quarterbacks throughout his career. And one could argue that he got more out of Caleb Williams than any other, who took home the 2022 Heisman Trophy after shattering nearly every single-season program record at the position after generating 4,919 yards of total offense and 52 touchdowns.

Williams has now moved on to the NFL, yet another quarterback that Riley has coached who heard his name called with the first overall pick of their respective NFL Draft. With redshirt junior Miller Moss now taking over the reins of the USC offense at quarterback.

Very few quarterbacks ever in college football have a skillset quite like Williams, including Moss. And during fall camp Riley opened up about how things will look different offensively for the Trojans with their new quarterback under center.

“There’s always I think some core things you do and believe in that we probably won’t change a whole lot regardless of who’s there. Then there’s certainly us doing our job to put our players in the best position we can,” Riley said.

“And so yeah, will we do every single thing we’ve done the previous few years?” he asked. “Probably not, but it’s not like going to be just a brand new offense that nobody’s seen either. So there’s some give and take there.”

Riley has catered to the rushing ability of passers like Williams, Kyler Murray, and Jalen Hurts in his career. But in the passing game his track record is pretty undeniable for signal callers, with many who’ve thrown for over 3,000 yards and 30 touchdowns in a single season and a handful who have eclipsed 4,000 yards and 40 scores through the air.

It will be fascinating to see what heights Moss will be able to reach as the next man up in Riley’s offense, but at large, the head coach is excited about building up all of the quarterbacks on USC’s roster.

“But it’s fun to have some new skill sets in the room and guys that play it different and it’s not just the plays you run. It’s kind of how you coach these guys kind of what you build around them and again, trying to put these guys in a position where their confidence is really high,” Riley explained. “Because it’s probably more important at that position than any.”

Moss looked plenty confident in his first career start against Louisville in the Holiday Bowl where he threw for 372 yards and six touchdowns in a 42-28 victory over the Cardinals. As he’ll now look to maintain that confidence and production ahead of the Trojans first season in the Big Ten.