Countdown to USC training camp: Quarterbacks

Welcome to our training camp preview series in which we’re breaking down the depth chart, key competitions, best and worst-case scenarios and newcomers to watch. We begin with quarterbacks.

18-JT Daniels (6-1, 215, So)

10-Jack Sears (6-3, 200, R-So)

19-Matt Fink (6-3, 212, R-Jr)

9-Kedon Slovis (6-2, 185, Fr)

While the program’s steepest traditions revolve around Heisman running backs and dominant defenses, USC has churned out elite college quarterbacks for the better part of 30 years now. JT Daniels arrived with as strong of a prep pedigree as any of his predecessors, which made his rookie year all the more puzzling. By the end of it, not only had USC replaced its quarterbacks coach but also its play-caller and offensive coordinator. The overlapping duties now belong to Graham Harrell, rather than the Clay Helton-Tee Martin-Bryan Ellis triumvirate. That difference alone is expected to yield different results.

With just one year in the program, it’s impossible to divorce Daniels’ uneven performance from the since-scrapped offense he operated in. Not once did either entity produce a complete game, while the lows often outweighed the highs. If USC is going to go from 5-7 to conference title contender, much less national, it starts with a return to standard at QB.

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