Former five-star recruit already turning heads for the USC Trojans, and a tough decision could be coming very soon
For the first time in a long time under head coach Lincoln Riley, we don’t know what to expect at the quarterback position. Coach Riley has made a career off of developing great quarterbacks, including Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, and Caleb Williams. It has been a bit of an embarrassment of riches. Although Miller Moss […]
For the first time in a long time under head coach Lincoln Riley, we don’t know what to expect at the quarterback position. Coach Riley has made a career off of developing great quarterbacks, including Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, and Caleb Williams. It has been a bit of an embarrassment of riches.
Although Miller Moss clearly had a limited ceiling going into the 2024 college football season for the USC Trojans under center, we still saw some really good moments. Former UNLV transfer Jayden Maiava took over as the starting quarterback down the stretch of last season, but his production left a lot to be desired.
He finished with 1,201 passing yards and 11 touchdowns, but threw six interceptions and completed just 60 percent of his passes. Maiava did add another four scores on the ground.
It was surprising to see USC not go into the transfer portal for a quarterback this offseason, at least just to compete with Maiava. While it might not be a veteran, the Trojans are bringing a very talented signal caller into the room. That is true freshman Husan Longstreet, who was considered by some to be a five-star recruit by several platforms in the 2025 class.
The 6-0, 202-pound passer opted for the Trojans over a long offer list that included Michigan, Oregon, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Miami, Florida State, and Auburn among many, many others. While he is a bit of a smaller quarterback, Longstreet has some insane arm talent to work with. His ceiling is extremely high.
The early feedback about Longstreet is that he has hit the ground running with the USC program so far. It’s so much so that people are still starting to talk about whether we might see Longstreet a little earlier than some anticipated. Most have expected the Corona (Calif.) Centennial product to be taken along slowly, but that ideology may be changing.
With Maiava being so up and down last season, that has left opportunity open for a player like Longstreet to come in and compete. If he does, Longstreet will be one of the more physically gifted passers that Coach Riley has ever worked with. The natural arm talent is special.
Situations always matter when you consider playing a young quarterback, and this USC team might be one that can help to ease on along. They have a really talented wide receiver group led by Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane, while also welcoming Prince Strachan in via the transfer portal this offseason.
If the offensive line can take a step forward, this offense has a chance to be sneakily good heading into the 2025 season. There might be an opportunity to get Longstreet on to the field this fall, and it might be what is best for USC, both in the short and long term.
