USC began the 2023 season with four scholarship quarterbacks. Junior Caleb Williams was one of them, and he’s likely to declare for the 2024 NFL Draft. Sophomores Miller Moss and Jake Jenson both were on scholarship, as was freshman Malachi Nelson. However, Nelson is reported to be transferring to Boise State. With Williams and Nelson gone, that leaves two scholarship quarterbacks.
Lincoln Riley has been public about his desire to leverage the transfer portal to land not one but potentially two quarterbacks. The Trojans don’t have a quarterback currently committed to their 2024 class, and its probably the case that any one of the 2024 quarterbacks still uncommitted likely aren’t the caliber of player that might push Miller Moss for playing time in 2024.
So, what is Lincoln Riley, the quarterback whisperer, to do?
Will Howard out of Kansas State committed to Ohio State after he visited USC this winter. Former Texas Longhorn Maalik Murphy, who was heavily recruited by USC prior to Riley’s hiring, transferred to Duke. Most of the best available quarterbacks have already found their new home via the portal.
USC recently had UNVL quarterback Jayden Maiava on campus for an unofficial visit. He recently led the UNLV Rebels to their first ever Mountain West championship game. The Freshman threw for over three-thousand yards to go along with 17 touchdown passes against 10 interceptions. Maiava has ideal size, but can also run around a little bit. Maiava might be the Trojans best option as it stands.
Another quarterback option for the Trojans could be Jayden De Laura, the former Arizona Wildcat by way of Washington State. De Laura is an intriguing player because he has had success at not one, but two Pac 12 programs. However, with the recent rule changes allowing undergraduates to transfer multiple times and with the emergence of Noah Fifita at Arizona, De Laura is now looking for a new home and is probably worth pursuing.
Another, less advisable option for USC could be sitting and waiting until the next transfer portal window. The Spring transfer portal window is from Tuesday, April 16th to Tuesday, April 30th. Last offseason, the vast majority of the best college quarterbacks who wanted to transfer did so after entering the portal during the winter window.
All that being said, Trojan fans have little to no reason to think that Lincoln Riley won’t be able to find more good quarterbacks to play for him, even with Miller Moss’s inside track to QB1 in 2024.