Ahead of USC’s Las Vegas Bowl matchup against Texas A&M, the Trojans’ roster has been ravaged by the transfer portal. The Trojans have already lost more than a dozen players into the portal, with more likely to come in the coming days.
Hence, USC’s roster for the bowl game will likely be a shell of what it looked like during the regular season. However, the Trojans did receive one piece of good news on Thursday when head coach Lincoln Riley revealed that third string quarterback Jake Jensen, who is in the transfer portal, will remain with the team through the Las Vegas Bowl.
While Jensen himself has never actually attempted a pass at USC, the news is big for the Trojans because it provides them with crucial QB depth. With Miller Moss also in the transfer portal, Jayden Maiava was set to be the Trojans’ only scholarship QB available for the game—meaning that USC was one injury away from being forced to play a walk-on at the most important position. With Jensen sticking around, the Trojans will at least have insurance in the event something were to happen to Maiava.
Jensen found himself in a similar role in last year’s Holiday Bowl. With Caleb Williams opting out of the game and Malachi Nelson entering the transfer portal, Jensen was the backup quarterback behind Moss for the game. He was inserted into the game on a fourth and one and picked up the first down on the ground—one of two snaps that he has taken in Cardinal and Gold.
If all goes according to plan for USC, Maiava will remain healthy and Jensen will not need to see the field during the game. That said, sticking around provides the Trojans an important insurance policy in the event something were to go wrong.