USC Football

After announcing his plans to transfer from USC on Monday, quarterback Miller Moss has reportedly identified a few potential destinations.

According to Pete Nakos of On3.com, Moss "is expected to look at Michigan, Auburn, Iowa and Louisville" when he officially enters the transfer portal.

Nakos described Moss as "an attractive name to programs hoping to find a plug-and-play type quarterback." However, he noted that Auburn is an unlikely spot for him because he's "not expected to be the Tigers' top choice."

Moss told ESPN's Pete Thamel on Monday that he intends to transfer from USC. He will have one year of eligibility remaining.

"I really enjoyed my time at USC," Moss told Thamel. "It was transformative for my life as a whole and for me growing up for the last few years. I'm thankful. I gave that program everything I had. There comes a point where there's a time to move on to new opportunities, and I'm hoping to better myself as a person and a player."

Moss began the 2024 season as the starting quarterback for the Trojans, but he was benched after the team's 4-5 start in favor of UNLV sophomore transfer Jayden Maiava.

Before being replaced by Maiava, Moss completed 64.4 percent of his passes for 2,555 yards, 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions while also adding two rushing touchdowns. He ends his USC career with 3,469 yards, 27 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on 65.9 percent passing.

Moss' experience at USC should give him an advantage over some of the other quarterbacks in the transfer portal this offseason.

USC redshirt junior quarterback Miller Moss plans to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal with one year of eligibility remaining.

ESPN's Pete Thamel first reported the news.

Moss spent the past four seasons with the Trojans, playing sparingly throughout his first three years before earning the starting job in 2024.

USC finished with a record of just 4-5 in his nine starts before he was eventually benched in favor of UNLV transfer Jayden Maiava on Nov. 5.

Prior to his benching, Moss completed 64.4 of his passes for 2,555 yards and 18 touchdowns compared to nine interceptions. He also scored twice on the ground.

USC won three of its first four games to open the year, sitting at No. 11 in the Week 6 Associated Press Top 25 poll. The Trojans couldn't sustain the hot start, losing four of their next five games before Moss was relegated to the sidelines.

Despite his decision to transfer, the signal-caller reflected on his USC tenure positively.

"I really enjoyed my time at USC," Moss said, per Thamel. "It was transformative for my life as a whole and for me growing up for the last few years. I'm thankful. I gave that program everything I had."

"There comes a point where there's a time to move on to new opportunities, and I'm hoping to better myself as a person and a player," he added.

Moss sat behind Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams in 2022 and 2023 before stepping into the first-string role to open the year.

While it ultimately didn't pan out the way he would have liked, his experience as a starter in the Big Ten and the ability to contribute immediately should make him one of the most coveted passers in the transfer portal.

USC head coach Lincoln Riley's 2025 recruiting class took a major hit on Sunday.

Per Hunter Shelton of On3.com, 5-star wide receiver Jerome Myles announced that he has de-committed from the Trojans. It was reported last month that Myles took a visit to Texas A&M.

"After talking with my family and god I've decided to decommit from the University of Southern California, please respect my decision." Myles wrote on Instagram, per Shelton.

The 6'2", 210-pound prospect out of Corner Canyon High School in Draper, Utah, had been committed to USC since Sept. 18. He also previously committed to Ole Miss in April before de-committing in June.

247Sports' composite ranks Myles as the No. 5 wide receiver and No. 23 overall player in the nation. He appeared in five games as a junior in 2023 and recorded 19 catches for 486 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 25.6 yards per reception. He also runs track for Corner Canyon and posted numerous sub-11.00 100-meter times during the 2023 campaign, including a state-record-setting 10.36 to win gold in the Utah 6A state championships. He also claimed gold in the 200-meter with a time of 21.38.

On3.com describes Myles as "the most athletically gifted wide receiver in the 2025 cycle" and "an athletic marvel of a prospect with a unique combination of elite size, athleticism and skill."

Myles was one of two 5-star prospects committed to the Trojans as part of the 2025 class along with quarterback Husan Longstreet. 247Sports now ranks USC as the No. 17 recruiting class in the nation. Texas A&M is currently ranked No. 11 and would receive a major boost if Myles decides to spend his college career as an Aggie.

The USC Trojans retired current Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams' number on Saturday during halftime of their game against Notre Dame.

Williams spent his final two college seasons with USC after transferring from Oklahoma.

With the Trojans, he won the 2022 Heisman Trophy, posting a 66.6 percent completion rate and a career-high 42 touchdown passes.

The 23-year-old stood alongside his family, including his parents Dayna Price and Carl Williams, as his No. 13 jersey was unveiled in the stands of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

In his final season with the Trojans, Williams threw for 3,633 yards with a completion percentage of 68.6 with 30 touchdowns.

Williams and USC head coach Lincoln Riley have remained close since his departure last season.

Ahead of the Bears' Sunday game against the Green Bay Packers during Week 11, Riley called Williams to offer some advice.

"Lincoln Riley called me the other day, and just wanted to talk to me," Williams said, according to Sports Illustrated's Charlie Viehl. "Check in, things like that. It's something that he told me my freshman year, when I wasn't in a position that I wanted to be in. I wasn't starting at the time, and he told me to 'keep going.' At that time, I didn't necessarily know what those two words meant. I wanted more than that. I wanted to hear a little more than that, but that's all he told me. I use those words to this day."

Williams' Bears teammate and former Notre Dame player Cole Kmet joined him in the celebration on Saturday.

Williams was drafted by the Bears as the No. 1 overall pick out of USC this season and has thrown for 2,612 yards and 14 touchdowns during the Bears' 4-8 campaign.

Chicago will play its first game since firing head coach Matt Eberflus when it takes on the San Francisco 49ers in Week 14.

USC football has had quite the interesting Sunday from a recruiting standpoint.

Earlier in the day, 5-star quarterback Julian Lewis announced he was decommitting from the school. Not long after, however, 5-star quarterback Husan Longstreet confirmed he was flipping his commitment from Texas A&M to USC.

"What made USC right for me is what Coach [Lincoln] Riley has done in the past," Longstreet told Steve Wiltfong of On3. "He has five quarterbacks starting in the NFL right now and four that won the Heisman. It's hard to turn down something special like that. I feel like we can do big things here and feel like a National Championship is coming."

On paper, Sunday's quarterback swap is basically a wash for the Trojans. According to 247Sports' Composite Rankings, Longstreet is the No. 6 overall quarterback prospect in the Class of 2025 and the No. 34 player overall, while Lewis is the No. 5 quarterback prospect and No. 31 player overall.

That isn't to suggest that the two players are interchangeable from a skillset perspective, of course.

Greg Biggins of 247Sports noted in his scouting report that Longstreet "has one of the strongest arms out West and one of the quicker releases to go with it" and is an "improving athlete" who "uses his legs as a junior a lot more than his first two years of high school ball and looked very comfortable in zone-read situations."

Charles Power of On3 added that Longstreet "has a rocket launcher attached to his right shoulder" after watching him at the Elite 11 Finals.

Andrew Ivins of 247Sports described Lewis, meanwhile, as a "de facto point guard on the gridiron that can distribute the football like few others" who has "proven to be a crafty mover both in and outside of the pocket and will extend plays like a true escape artist."

He noted that Lewis is built to run modern spread offenses.

USC currently has the No. 13 recruiting class for 2025, per 247Sports, with Longstreet joining wideout Jerome Myles as the 5-star additions to this point.

Julian Lewis—one of the top quarterback recruits in the class of 2025—decommitted from USC on Sunday.

ESPN's Pete Thamel originally reported the decision, and Lewis later confirmed it to On3's Hayes Fawcett. Per Thamel, Lewis recently visited with Georgia and Colorado, and he has expressed some interest in Indiana as well.

Lewis is rated a 5-star prospect by 247Sports, as well as the No. 31 overall player and No. 5 quarterback in the 2025 recruiting class. He was originally part of the class of 2026 before reclassifying.

Although he committed to USC back in August 2023, Lewis has made several official and unofficial visits since then. Most recently, he visited Indiana in May and USC, Auburn and Colorado in June.

Lewis also unofficially visited Georgia in November 2023 and attended the school's Junior Day in February.

Since he stars at Carrollton High School in Carrollton, Georgia, which is only about two hours away from the University of Georgia's campus in Athens, Georgia, the Bulldogs are viewed as strong candidates to land Lewis.

When Lewis originally committed to USC, it was on the heels of quarterback Caleb Williams winning the Heisman Trophy with the Trojans in 2022. He then proceeded to have a strong 2023 campaign as well, which led to him going No. 1 overall in the 2024 NFL draft.

However, 2024 has been a struggle for head coach Lincoln Riley's squad, as USC is a disappointing 5-5 on the year.

Conversely, Georgia is 8-2 and coming off a huge win over No. 7 Tennessee on Saturday, Colorado is 8-2 and controls its own destiny to play in the Big 12 Championship Game and Indiana is 10-0, giving the Hoosiers their first 10-win season in school history.

Whichever team lands Lewis will be getting a potentially program-changing talent based on the enormous success he has enjoyed at the high school level.

Per 247Sports, Lewis was a finalist for the Gatorade National Player of the Year as a sophomore last season after throwing for 3,094 yards, 48 touchdowns and just two interceptions.

It is unclear which school has the advantage between Georgia, Colorado and Indiana, but Thamel noted that Lewis is expected to make his commitment "in the upcoming weeks" before enrolling early.

The NCAA has placed USC's football program on probation for a violation of rules between 2022 and 2023.

In a release issued on Tuesday (h/t Connor Morrissette of 247Sports.com), the discipline stems from a violation of "on- and off-field coaching activities" during the spring of 2022, fall of 2022 and spring of 2023 resulting in the program "exceeding the permissible number of countable coaches by six for two academic years."

USC was also fined $50,000.

The NCAA release notes that USC head coach Lincoln Riley violated head coach responsibility rules, but it was determined suspending him "was not appropriate" because some of the violations occurred before a rules change in January 2023 that shifted head coach responsibility rules "rebuttable presumption to automatic attachment."

Eight different analysts for the Trojans' football program engaged in the activities. It was also determined that Riley was not personally involved in the violations and promoted an atmosphere of compliance and monitored his staff.

The full list of penalties for USC includes one year of probation; a fine; restriction for the special teams analyst from practice and film review for six consecutive days during two weeks of the 2024-25 season; and restriction for the remaining analysts from practice and film review for six consecutive days during four weeks of the 2024-25 season.

USC self-imposed a reduction in countable athletically related activities for the football program by 24 hours during the 2023-24 season after being made aware of the violations.

Riley is in his third season as Trojans head coach. They have a 4-5 record this year in their first season playing in the Big Ten. He has a 23-13 overall record at USC since 2022.

John Robinson, who is one of the most notable figures in the history of USC football, died Monday at the age of 89.

USC announced he died due to complications from pneumonia.

Robinson was the head coach of the Trojans for two different stints, with the first coming from 1976 through 1982 and the second coming from 1993 through 1997. His crowning moment with the program came when he led USC to the national championship during the 1978 campaign.

"I think the thing that I'll remember about Coach Robinson is that the bar was very, very high in terms of expectations, and he was right in the middle of it," said Paul McDonald, who was the quarterback of that championship team, per Bruce Feldman of The Athletic. "He wasn't one of these guys who stood in the tower. He was in the middle of the action, demonstrating how to block, how to tackle, how to move.

"He really loved the physicality of the game. That's what he was drawn to, and because of that, we were an incredibly physical team. He instilled this whole philosophy of wearing the other guys down, and that was really smart, because you don't win games with flash. You win games with punching people in the mouth."

While the 1978 team won the championship, his 1979 team featured four Pro Football Hall of Famers in Anthony Muñoz, Ronnie Lott, Marcus Allen and Bruce Matthews.

In all, Robinson went 104-35-4 with the Trojans and led the program to consistent excellence. Only John McKay and Howard Jones have more wins in program history, and he also took home five Pac-10 championships and four Rose Bowl titles.

He didn't lose in any of his four Rose Bowl appearances with USC and was elected into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2004 as a result. He was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009 and won the Pac-10 Coach of the Year twice and National Coach of the Year once.

While Robinson is most closely associated with USC, he played at Oregon and helped lead the Ducks to the Rose Bowl during the 1958 campaign. After his collegiate career finished, he became Oregon's offensive coordinator in 1960 and remained on the staff for 12 years before going to USC.

He eventually coached at the NFL level as well as an assistant with the Oakland Raiders in 1975 before he was the head coach of the Los Angeles Rams for nine seasons from 1983 through 1991.

Those Rams teams went a combined 75-68 and advanced to the NFC Championship Game during the 1985 and 1989 seasons.

Robinson wasn't done with the collegiate game and led UNLV from 1999 to 2004 as the head coach before he helped guide the 2019 LSU Tigers to the national championship as a senior consultant.

He is survived by his wife, Beverly, as well as his four children, two stepchildren and 10 grandchildren.

Amid their recent slide, the USC Trojans are reportedly making a change at quarterback.

According to ESPN's Pete Thamel and Paolo Uggetti, USC head coach Lincoln Riley is benching Miller Moss in favor of Jayden Maiava for the Trojans' next game against Nebraska on Nov. 16.

USC started the season 3-1, but it has dropped four of its past five games, including a 26-21 road loss to Washington this past Saturday.

Moss, a redshirt junior, backed up Caleb Williams in both 2022 and 2023, but he staked his claim to the starting job at the end of the 2023 campaign by being named Holiday Bowl MVP by virtue of his six-touchdown performance.

In his first full season as the starter, Moss opened the season well by throwing eight touchdown passes to two interceptions amid a 3-1 start, which included a win over LSU.

Moss has thrown 10 touchdown passes over the past five contests, but he has also thrown seven interceptions, including a career-high three picks in the loss to Washington.

While Moss' overall numbers of 2,555 passing yards, 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions don't look bad, things simply haven't been clicking for the Trojans lately, and they now need to go at least 2-1 over their final three games to become bowl-eligible.

In Moss' place, the Trojans are set to start a redshirt sophomore transfer in the form of Maiava.

Maiava started 11 games at UNLV last season, going 7-4 and completing 63.5 percent of his passes for 3,085 yards, 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, while also rushing for 277 yards and three scores.

He has only seen action in three games during his first season at USC, going 8-of-11 for 66 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions, and rushing three times for 27 yards and a touchdown.

Maiava brings starting experience and some dual-threat ability to the table, which could add another dimension to the USC offense.

Whereas Maiava has rushed for over 300 yards in his career, Moss has rushed for only nine yards, including minus-18 yards this season due to sacks.

Maiava's first assignment will come against a Nebraska team that is also searching for answers, as the Cornhuskers have lost three games in a row, dropping them to 5-4 on the season.

The Trojans are 4-5, and they are looking to avoid their first losing season since going 4-8 in 2021, which was a year that saw head coach Clay Helton get fired just two games into the campaign.

USC Trojans tight end Walker Lyons and "Dancing With The Stars" professional Rylee Arnold announced their relationship on social media.

Following USC's 42-20 victory over Rutgers, Arnold posted on social media with the caption, "Is this a hard launch??"

Arnold, a 19-year-old professional dancer, was member of "Dancing with the Stars: Juniors," where she finished runner up alongside dancer Miles Brown, before moving up to the main roster.

Last season, she was partnered with actor and fan-favorite Harry Jowsey. The duo were eliminated during Week 9, finishing sixth. This season, Arnold is paired with Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik.

As for Lyons, the tight end has played in two games this season, with 25 total yards for the Trojans.

Lyons and USC will travel up to the Pacific Northwest to play the Washington Huskies on Saturday.