Lincoln Riley, USC to look for another QB in the transfer portal

There's always roster turnover in college football, but it has been more common than ever lately in the NIL and transfer portal era. 

If players are unhappy, they can easily leave and play somewhere else without losing eligibly. Heck, they can even seek to be paid better elsewhere, to transfers have become the norm.

USC and head coach Lincoln Riley recently got news of a transfer in their quarterback room. Miller Moss, a redshirt junior, was USC's starting quarterback to begin the season, but he gave way to Jayden Maiava as the Trojans struggled to a 6-6 season. Moss is seeking a new opportunity elsewhere, which for the moment, leaves USC with just two quarterbacks on its roster.

One would be Maiava, who threw for 906 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions in three starts for USC. The other is incoming freshman five-star quarterback signee Husan Longstreet from Corona, California.

That leaves Riley needing at least one quarterback, but he's not stressing about it. The portal works both ways, after all.

“We will look for another quarterback in the portal,” Riley said in his early signing day press conference (h/t On3). “I think we’re going to be looking for somebody to come in and provide some depth in that room. Like you said, we just have two guys right now. Which, I think earlier in my career I would have been freaking out a little bit. Now, it’s a yearly occurrence.”

Maiava does have experience but Riley is also excited about what Longstreet offers, even as a freshman. He's ranked as the No. 5 quarterback recruit in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite. 

“Really excited to bring Husan into our program,” Riley said. “As that whole scenario played out, it became very clear that we wanted him to be the quarterback in the program for a lot of different reasons. Specifically, his mental makeup and commitment to the team and commitment to want to be great. Can’t wait to add him to the room.”