On Monday, USC quarterback Miller Moss announced his intention to enter the NCAA transfer portal. While USC fans will certainly be sad to see Moss go, the move made sense for both sides from a football standpoint. Moss lost the starting job by the end of the 2024 season, and he wanted to find somewhere he could play for his final season of eligibility—ideally in an offensive system that fits his skill set better than that of Lincoln Riley.
From a personal standpoint, however, this was a much tougher decision for Moss. USC was his dream school as a child, and he grew up admiring Trojan quarterbacks such as Matt Barkley and Cody Kessler. Moss wanted to follow in the line of what USC greats, and that caused him to wait his turn as a backup for three seasons, even when most others in his shoes likely would have transferred.
Moss’s love for USC extended well beyond the football field, however. Having been a student at the same time as Moss, I saw firsthand how much he tried to ingrain himself into the student body. He took challenging classes—remarkably graduating in just 2.5 years—joined organizations, and made friends beyond the football team.
In today’s era of NIL, many college football players feel like mercenaries. They live off-campus in luxury apartments, only show up to campus for classes and practice, and don’t really interact with any students other than their teammates.
Miller Moss was the antithesis of that. In an era where the term student-athlete has largely become a punchline, he truly was a USC student AND an athlete. This was highlighted by the fact that, in his transfer post on social media, he thanked not just his coaches, but also his professors and academic advisors.
Perhaps my favorite Miller Moss story comes from November of 2022, when he was the backup quarterback behind soon-to-be Heisman Trophy-winner Caleb Williams. With the regular season winding down, the Trojans were headed into a massive Crosstown Showdown with longtime foe UCLA. With a victory in the rivalry matchup, the Trojans would advance to the Pac-12 Championship Game, and be in great position to make the College Football Playoff.
The day before the game, one of the sororities on-campus hosted a philanthropy flag football tournament. Even though he had a massive game the next day and was one hard hit to Williams from being thrust into the action, Moss played quarterback for his fraternity in the tournament, leading them to a championship. (In case anyone cares, I also played in the tournament as a wide receiver, but my team lost in the first round.)
Was it a very smart decision for him to play in a philanthropy flag football tournament the day before a massive rivalry game? Probably not.
But if that doesn’t sum up Miller Moss’s relationship with USC, then I don’t know what does. He was a true presence in the Trojan community, and his love for the university went well beyond the football field.
Moss will play his final season of college football elsewhere. But he will forever bleed Cardinal and Gold, and he will always be a Trojan at heart.
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