Entering the 2025 season, there are still some major questions surrounding the state of USC football’s quarterback room. This is why it certainly raised eyebrows, when, on Thursday, Georgia starting quarterback Carson Beck entered the transfer portal. Beck started the past two seasons for the Bulldogs, throwing for nearly 7,500 yards and 52 touchdowns and leading them to back-to-back SEC Championship Games.
Barely 24 hours later, however, Beck was off the market, as he committed to Miami on Friday.
With Beck headed elsewhere, however, it raises the question: Should Lincoln Riley and USC have pursued him in the portal?
USC’s QB room heading into spring practice consists of Jayden Maiava, Sam Huard, and Husan Longstreet. Maiava is currently considered the favorite to win the job, as he started the final four games of USC’s 2024 season, going 3-1. However, he should be pushed heavily by both Huard—a former five-star recruit who will be on his fourth different school in five years—and Longstreet—a five-star signee in the class of 2025.
While all three quarterbacks have upside, none have the proven track record of a guy like Beck, who has proven that he can play well against elite competition. So should USC have pursued Beck, then?
On the surface, Beck would be an upgrade over the guys that the Trojans currently have in their QB room. In today’s era of college football, however, it is hardly that simple. Landing Beck would have required a significant investment of NIL funds, which in turn would have meant less money to spend elsewhere.
Beck is a very good quarterback, but is he good enough to justify spending millions of dollars that could have otherwise gone towards upgrading other positions? That’s hard to say.
If Beck lights the world on fire at Miami and wins the Heisman/leads the Hurricanes to the playoff, then we will certainly question the decision by USC not to pursue him further. Given Riley’s success with quarterbacks and the numerous other holes on the Trojans’ roster, sitting this one out feels like a reasonable move on USC’s part.
