LOS ANGELES — He walked off the Coliseum turf Saturday staggering, weary despite not having worn a helmet, the emotions of a trying year written in the bow of Miller Moss’s head and gamely smile.
Gavin Morris, USC’s program director of player personnel, wrapped his arm around the back of the quarterback’s No. 7 jersey as he walked off. Moss paused in the tunnel, briefly, to hug a security guard, after USC’s regular-season-ending loss to Notre Dame.
And then he was gone, a born Trojan through and through who had stuck around for four years even in the toughest of times.
On Monday morning, Moss announced on Instagram he’d enter the transfer portal, penning a few lengthy paragraphs of thanks and reflection on his time in Southern California.
“Being a USC Trojan was a lifelong dream of mine,” Moss wrote. “Putting on the cardinal and gold and competing on behalf of my teammates and school is something I will forever take pride in.”
“I poured everything I have into this — body, mind, heart and soul — and am humbled by and proud of what my teammates and I accomplished,” he continued, “and fought tooth and nail for.”
After three years in USC’s program and two years working in the wings behind Caleb Williams, Moss finally got a test as USC’s QB1 in last December’s Holiday Bowl and passed with flying colors, authoring a seeming star-making moment in a six-touchdown performance against Louisville. After head coach Lincoln Riley plucked UNLV transfer Jayden Maiava out of the portal in the winter, all signs still pointed to Moss as USC’s quarterback come 2024, and Moss officially won the job in the fall as the program had already molded in identity around him.
But after a tremendous performance in USC’s Week 1 win over LSU in Vegas, and a string of solid games against Michigan and Wisconsin, Moss struggled with a slew of back-breaking turnovers as USC’s season slipped away — throwing crucial picks in losses to Minnesota, Penn State, Maryland and Washington. And after that early-November loss to the Huskies, Riley turned to Maiava, Moss relegated to the sidelines for the last three games of USC’s season.
“I want to say, like — listen, Miller Moss has done a really good job for us,” Riley said then. “Like, you could literally not change one thing that Miller’s done and we could be sitting here with a really, really good record right now. Miller has done a very good job. He’s been a really good leader for this team. He’s been loyal to this program.”
Too much, indeed, was often placed on Moss’s shoulders, the quarterback averaging about 40 pass attempts a game in his nine starts and often scapegoated despite stretches of stellar play. Riley’s offense, though, has simply looked more dynamic with Maiava behind center for USC’s last three games, a quarterback more prone to risk-reward decisions but offering more of a threat in play-action situations. And when Riley made the switch, he seemed to hint it would likely mean Moss would turn to the portal in the offseason.
“He’ll come and go to work for this team and he’ll be ready for his next opportunity, no matter where it is,” Riley said, “and we’re going to continue to push and coach him to help him.”
Moss, indeed, still patrolled the sidelines for USC’s last three games, even as transfer rumors swirled. He finished his redshirt-junior season at USC with 2,555 passing yards, 20 total touchdowns and nine interceptions in nine games.
