I had finally waited long enough.
After three seasons waiting for his moment as a substitute and a life dedicated to dreaming of being… University of the SouthThe number one quarterback of Miller’s Moss was officially named the Trojans’ starter on Monday.
The official announcement, which was made by the team on social media, had long seemed like a formality, at least from the Holiday Bowl last December, When Moss ripped through Louisville with a game-winning six touchdowns in his first start, his teammates called for him to be the heir apparent from the postgame podium. Even the coach Lincoln Rileywho had spoken openly about bringing in multiple signings to compete, admitted that night that his plans could have changed.
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“Shoot,” Riley said then. “I might have scared off anyone who wanted to come here anyway.”
In the end, Riley finally brought in a transfer quarterback. Jayden Maiava from Nevada Las Vegas. And while Maiava has impressed with his skills and natural shooting motion, that hasn’t been enough to offset the experience Moss brings to Riley’s offense.
The role is likely to be much different with Moss at the helm than it has been under Riley. Four of Riley’s last five starting quarterbacks — Caleb WilliamsJalen Hurts, Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield currently lead NFL offenses. All four were also especially dangerous dual threats under Riley.
That may not be so Moss-like. But when Riley was asked last week how he would change his offense for Moss, he agreed that while his USC offense wouldn’t utilize all of the same concepts it had the past two seasons with an expert improviser like Williams, it also wouldn’t be “a brand new offense that nobody’s seen before.”
“I think there are always some fundamental things that you do and believe in that probably won’t change much regardless of who’s there,” Riley said, “and then it’s certainly us doing our job to put our players in the best position possible.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.