Is Miller Moss Next in Line at Southern Cal?

Lincoln Riley had his “Trojan horse” for the Cardinals in quarterback Miller Moss. Most of the nation did not have any intel on the redshirt sophomore.

Moss went out and did not miss a beat at the helm of the Riley quarterback machine, going 23 for 33 passing for 372 yards and a school-record six touchdowns in a bowl game. Only Cody Kessler’s seven touchdown performance in a 2014 regular season matchup against Colorado remains a better effort that that of Moss against the Cardinals.

While many had Southern California as the landing spot of former Kansas State quarterback Will Howard, who ended up at Ohio State, not only did Moss feel his performance solidified the room, but so did Riley, "He was like, 'Hey, great job. I just want to let you know we're not going to take an older transfer,'" Moss said. "I think Lincoln really wanted to see me play and then was going to make a decision because I think he wanted to see if what happened in the game confirmed his practice evaluation."

While Riley felt he did not need to get a veteran quarterback the caliber of Howard to compete with Moss, Riley still felt Moss needed competition in the room and sought out former UNLV quarterback Jaydan Maiava, who is rising redshirt sophomore who completed 63.2% of his passes for 3,085 yards and led UNLV to their most wins since 1984 and best season since their 8-5 mark under hall of fame coach John Robinson.

"After the way Miller played in the bowl game, and not just the way he played that night, but the way he handled those six weeks of practice, we felt extremely confident in him, and we really felt like there was not much of a need to really pursue anybody that was older," Riley said of Moss and said of the competition with Maiava. "We're going to let those two guys duke it out."

Entering their April 20 spring game, the two key things everyone was going to watch were the quarterbacks and the revamped defense.

If anything, the defense was the story, collecting five total turnovers, including four interceptions.

It was hard to determine if Riley was keeping things close to the vest with their Week 1 matchup against LSU or if new defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn continued his confusion of Riley.

Fortunately for Riley, Lynn is on his side. However, the combined quarterback play left a lot to be desired, but Riley still has Moss in the driver's seat for the starting job this fall. "He's certainly ahead right now. There's not a question about that. Now, Jayden is improving rapidly as he learns it, and I think it's going to continue to provide great competition in the room. We've been really pleased with the way Jake (Jensen) has handled the snaps that we've given him. We're in a position right now where we don't have to decide a starter, but if we played today, it would certainly be Miller."

Now, many are questioning if Moss is the next quarterback in Riley’s assembly line of quarterbacks.

The products of that assembly line now consist of three Heisman Trophy-winners who also went number one in the draft, a refined Jalen Hurts who is now a bonafide franchise player for the Eagles, and even Spencer Rattler, who, despite all his trials and tribulations in college, still managed to get selected in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Williams and Rattler’s selections in the most recent draft allow Riley to boast that every one of his primary starting quarterbacks, those who took the majority of the snaps, has been drafted by the NFL.

Now all eyes are on Moss to see if he can be the next quarterback in the Riley assembly line and by all accounts he will most likely get the nod against LSU when they travel to Las Vegas.

While I like Moss, to say he is in the same class right now as Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, or Caleb Williams in the Riley lineage of quarterback would be disingenuous. I would even argue that saying that he is better than Spencer Rattler at this junction would be disingenuous as well.

The Holiday Bowl performance proved the potential is off the charts for Moss, but a season that doesn’t live up to the standard, you have to wonder in 2025 if incoming quarterback Julian Lewis, rated as a five-star and ranked as the No. 4 overall QB by 247Sports, will have a say or again the transfer portal becomes a place Riley goes hunting.

I personally feel Moss will be amongst the best in the Big Ten this season and will keep the Trojans in the hunt for their first College Football Playoff berth.

Being amongst the best in Riley’s lineage is another question. Just remember the great LaVell Edwards quarterbacks at BYU - Marc Wilson, Jim McMahon, Steve Young, Ty Detmer, and Steve Sarkisian all did great things for the Cougars but it was Robbie Bosco that won Edwards lone national championship.

Moss has that same opportunity Bosco had, though outshined by others who were highly drafted or winning the Heisman, Moss could be the first to win Riley a playoff game or even more.

During the spring game, Moss realized nothing was easy against his secondary, “They make you earn it this year," apropos to how Moss will have to earn that distinction for being Riley’s next great quarterback as well.