USC starting QB update: Coach Lincoln Riley is non-committal on Caleb Williams’ replacement for 2024

Lincoln Riley is going into his third season as the head coach of the USC Trojans. For the last two years, Caleb Williams has been their starting quarterback.

Williams was one of college football's best quarterbacks and won the 2022 Heisman Trophy. After the end of the 2023 season, he declared for the 2024 NFL draft, where the Chicago Bears selected him first overall.

Williams' absence means that Riley has to pick another quarterback to lead the team. On Friday, when asked about the QB position, he gave a non-committal response:

“Miller had the best spring…There's no question if we were playing at that point that he would have been the starter... You've got some other guys in the room, Jayden (Maiava) and Jake (Jensen) they both got reps and have gotten better fast."

"It's not a decision that we had to make in the spring, so we didn't."

It is widely assumed that the next starting quarterback for the USC Trojans will be Miller Moss. Moss was the backup for Caleb Williams, so he already has the knowledge of how this Trojan team plays.

Additionally, Moss has some experience as the starter for USC. He played in the 2023 Holiday Bowl against the Louisville Cardinals, as Williams decided against playing. Moss was strong, throwing for 372 yards and scoring six touchdowns in the Trojan's victory. For his work, he won the offensive MVP for the game.

Statistically, Miller Moss is the best quarterback available for the Trojans this year and is assumed to be the starter for their first season in the Big Ten. However, Riley has not made an official confirmation.

Which other quarterback could be the starter for the USC Trojans?

The other quarterback that Lincoln Riley has recently praised is Jayden Maiava. Maiava spent the 2023 season leading the UNLV Rebels to a successful nine-win season and a place in the Mountain West Conference championship game, where they lost to Boise State.

In the season, Maiava threw for 3,085 yards and scored 17 touchdowns, but threw for 10 interceptions. During the off-season, he transferred to the USC Trojans and may have started a quarterback battle.

Both players are talented and have shown potential, but they also have a lot of room for growth.

Lincoln Riley understands this, and the improvements shown by Maiava during training camp may have given Riley a lot to consider going into the 2024 season.