USC Trojans: Competition for starting QB job just got easier

With J.T. Daniels transferring from the USC Trojans, the quarterback competition just got a lot easier for the team.

The quarterback position for USC Trojans football last year was a bit up in the air. There were three different starters at different times in the season and players were getting injured in every other game. J.T. Daniels, who played in only one game last year and red-shirted his sophomore year, completed his transfer to Georgia with three years of eligibility left.

It seems as though the competition for the starting role at USC just got easier for sophomore Kedon Slovis. Unless he isn’t healthy, it looks like redshirt senior Matt Fink is going to have to find a comfortable seat.

Slovis was the main quarterback last year, playing in 12 games and had a 72 percent completion rate to go with his 3,502 yards, 30 touchdowns and 9 interceptions at the end of his freshman season. Fink played in eight games with a 66 percent completion rate to go with 648 yards, 4 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Daniels had a 74 percent completion rate, 215 yards, a touchdown and an interception in the one game he played.

The starter is going to have two solid wide outs in Junior Amon-Ra St. Brown and redshirt senior Tyler Vaughns. Saint Brown and Vaughns were the second and third option last season behind Michael Pittman, Jr. and are both looking to have big years. St. Brown had over a thousand yards receiving in 12 games last year while Vaughns had just over 900 yards in 11 games and they both scored six times. St. Brown might seem like more of a deep threat based on yardage but they’re both going to be a big piece of the offense.

Even though it’s important to have solid receivers, it’s big to have a good running game to even things out. Redshirt Senior Vavae Malepeai will likely lead the charge with Senior Stephen Carr and redshirt sophomore Markese Stepp right behind him. Malepeai ran for 503 yards last season, Carr ran for 396 yards, and Stepp ran for 307 yards before going down with an ankle injury after six games. The Trojans’ running game will likely have a lot of fun.

The Trojans are going to have Slovis for at least two more years, so the future is bright. USC also recently landed local four-star recruit Miller Moss out of Bishop Alemany in Mission Hills, who will be joining Slovis on the field next season.

It looks like Daniels has a chance to start at Georgia, so hopefully he’s successful there.