When quarterback Miller Moss stepped onto the field at Petco Park to lead the USC Trojans against the Louisville Cardinals in the 2023 Holiday Bowl, a lot had changed since the last time he started a football game.
Moss, then a redshirt sophomore, had spent the past two years backing up Heisman Trophy winner and eventual No. 1 NFL draft pick Caleb Williams, and was getting the start after Williams opted to sit the game out. Moss saw action in just two games as a true freshman in 2021, both off the bench. His senior season of high school got wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the years between starts, he stood on the sideline as USC went 4–8 and made a coaching change in 2021, reached the ’22 Pac-12 championship game, then face-planted to a 7–5 mark in what was an abysmal ’23 campaign. When he finally got the opportunity to take the game's opening snap, Moss quickly proved himself ready for the challenge.
His long wait provided a nice story line heading into the Holiday Bowl, then turned into a storybook ending after he tossed six touchdown passes in a 42–28 win. Now, eight months later, Moss’s trajectory has him poised to go from overlooked afterthought to the face of the program as the Trojans embark on a new era in the Big Ten.
Life comes at you fast, right? Not if you’re Miller Moss.
The redshirt junior’s path to becoming USC’s starting quarterback makes him modern college football’s greatest anomaly. In an era of unprecedented player movement, where transferring has never been easier, Moss has opted for the road less traveled and stuck to his roots to stay at the school he has always loved.
“I truly have a ton of love for this university,” Moss said at Big Ten media day. “I have a ton of love for this staff, and obviously a ton of love for the players in the locker room, and I’m completely committed to them. I love this place, and I’m hopefully gonna deliver a lot more wins this year.”
Moss did not arrive at USC as an underdog. A four-star prospect out of Bishop Alemany High (Mission Hills, Calif.), he was ranked as the No. 12 quarterback in the 2021 class by 247Sports. Along with Jaxson Dart, he was one of two quarterbacks the Trojans signed that year under then-coach Clay Helton. Both began the ’21 season backing up incumbent starter Kedon Slovis, but when Slovis suffered an injury that kept him out of action, Dart got the call to step in. Moss attempted his first career pass in the season finale—a 24–14 loss to Cal—as part of a 4–8 season that saw Helton get fired after Week 2.
After USC hired Lincoln Riley, the Trojans saw a mass exodus of players hit the transfer portal. Moss wasn’t one of them, and he remained with the team even after Riley brought Williams with him from Oklahoma—a scenario Moss admits was less than ideal.
“There was probably one guy in my Elite 11 class that I wouldn’t have gone to the same school as, and that was Caleb Williams,” Moss told football analyst Yogi Roth this offseason. “And it’s funny … sitting behind him for two years was difficult, and I think it taught me a ton.”
To put into perspective how rare it is that Moss decided to stick at one school and wait his turn, consider this: of the 11 quarterbacks ranked ahead of him in his recruiting class, nine eventually transferred from the school they originally signed with. The only two who didn’t? Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy and North Carolina’s Drake Maye, both of whom were starters by their second seasons.
Rankings according to 247Sports
Every player has his own reasons for wanting to look for another opportunity, of course. But that Moss chose to stay speaks to the belief he has in his own abilities, as well as the bond he feels with his school and teammates.
“I love Miller,” redshirt junior offensive lineman Mason Murphy says. “I came in with Miller as a freshman, so I’ve always seen how he operates on the field and off the field, from our freshman year to now. So it’s not a surprise that he’s doing great things right now. I’m just excited to see where he goes from here.”
That relationship-building has laid the foundation for where Moss stands today, and is the by-product of his decision to stay tethered to one place for so long. Instead of looking for a quicker path to playing time, Moss prioritized his school and those around him.
“Miller cares about people,” USC quarterbacks coach Luke Huard says. “He is a true, genuine person that cares about our guys on and off the field. I think our players feel that. He’s certainly someone that, if they need him in any scenario, he’s gonna be there for his teammates.”
Huard arrived at USC in February 2022 first as an offensive analyst and later became the inside receivers coach before shifting to his current role ahead of this season. He joined Riley’s staff in Los Angeles after most of the other coaches had already gotten started. Not knowing many people on his new team, the 44-year-old former college quarterback was struck by how Moss went out of his way to introduce himself and welcome him to campus, even though Huard wouldn’t become his position coach until this year.
“Right away, I was like, ‘This guy is engaging, this guy’s got a great personality, this guy is thoughtful,’” Huard says about his first impression of Moss.
Moss saw time in nine games as Williams’s backup prior to the Holiday Bowl start, all in garbage time. Still, the way he carried himself in practice despite receiving limited snaps indicated he wasn’t someone who felt sorry for himself at his lack of opportunity.
“That’s a guy that takes the job serious,” sophomore wide receiver Ja’Kobi Lane says. “Even though he wasn’t the starter last year or the year before that, he really still took it serious and didn’t let anything get in the way of his competitive spirit.
“He’s one of those crazy competitors and he realizes what he’s capable of. He’s a real hungry dude.”
Treating practice like a game is easier said than done, particularly when you’re a backup quarterback stuck behind the reigning Heisman Trophy winner. That Moss consistently brought that level of intensity to the practice field left an impression on the rest of the team.
“The key for any quarterback, whether they’ve been the third guy or the second guy, is how do you approach it?” Huard says. “Are you that guy who goes, Well, I probably won’t play that many snaps this game, so I may not prepare as hard as the starter? Miller’s been that guy, regardless of wherever he’s been [on the depth chart], he’s always prepared as if, I’m playing in this game. I think all the quarterbacks that have to wait their turn, it’s what they do in those moments.”
Moss’s six-touchdown bowl performance was the culmination of a yearslong exercise in patience, but it didn’t immediately cement his status as USC’s 2024 starter. The Trojans hosted former Kansas State Wildcats quarterback Will Howard for a visit in December (Howard instead committed to the Ohio State Buckeyes), and brought in UNLV Rebels transfer, and reigning Mountain West Freshman of the Year, Jayden Maiava, in January, adding yet another hurdle for Moss to clear.
After an impressive camp, Riley finally did what many had expected, naming Moss the team’s starter on Monday. The announcement is a validation of sorts, a hard-earned reward for a player who spurned the transfer portal and other more immediate opportunities and put his trust in the process.
After all the waiting, coaching changes and uncertainty, Moss no longer has to wonder. When the Trojans face No. 13 LSU in the season opener to begin what USC hopes will be a bounce-back year, he’ll be the one who leads the team onto the field. When the moment arrives, it’ll be one he’s waited—and, crucially, prepared for—for a long time.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Miller Moss Takes the Reins at USC As Modern College Football’s Greatest Anomaly.
