USC coach Clay Helton said he would reveal the rest of the season-opening depth chart next week, but he confirmed what had seemingly become apparent this week in announcing that freshman Jaxson Dart would open the season as the Trojans' No. 2 quarterback behind starter Kedon Slovis, with fellow freshman Miller Moss at No. 3.
Dart and Moss -- ranked the No. 107 and No. 109 overall national prospects in the 2021 recruiting class -- both arrived in the winter and began their competition back in the spring.
Dart came out of the spring ahead and has maintained his advantage this preseason, although Moss elevated his performance this month.
"I had to have some hard conversations as we moved into gameplanning at several positions. I’ll be releasing the two-deep next week, but I will give you this because obviously y’all see. Had the opportunity to talk to the quarterbacks about where we’re going to start at. I commend all three kids for how competitive they were and how much they’ve improved from spring to fall. Going into the San Jose State game, we’ll have Kedon as the No. 1 quarterback, Jaxson as the No. 2 and Miller as the No. 3," Helton said in a Thursday morning Zoom call with reporters.
"They’re each trying to prep as hard as they can in their mind to be a starter and prep like a starter. All kids handled it extremely well, like pros, like I knew they would and we’ll move forward. With any other positions, I’ve had those conversations with our kids yesterday. They kind of know their role going into it, and I’ll release the depth chart later next week based on where we are health-wise and making sure it’s exactly this is the lineup we want to go with based on health and based on production."
With Slovis projected as a potential high NFL draft pick if things go well this season, the competition wasn't just for the backup QB job but also for early positioning in the battle to succeed Slovis perhaps as soon as next season.
Ultimately, Helton said, the decision came down to the scrimmage-like settings.
Dart was the star of USC's first preseason scrimmage in the Coliseum, throwing three touchdowns passes (two from short-field situations) for the offense's only scores of the day. In the second and final scrimmage last Saturday, Dart led a three-play touchdown drive capped by a 28-yard score on a screen pass to Kenan Christon and also had the biggest pass play of the day on a 34-yard connection to tight end Michael Trigg during two-minute drill work. He did throw an interception in the end zone on his final pass, though.
Moss threw a pick-6 in that second scrimmage and led a red zone touchdown drive, capped by a short Quincy Jountti run into the end zone.
"Really, you're talking about three elite quarterbacks in that room when you're talking about Kedon and Jaxson and MIller. You're talking about, I think, three pro quarterbacks and guys that will develop and develop fast," Helton said. "I saw Miller really grow from practice 1 to where he is now. You think about a kid that didn't even get a senior year, didn't get to play his senior year and to be able to do that, be able to get to where he is right now and be ready for college football has been amazing to me. Where Jaxson had a leg up a little bit was in live action. That's how it was evaluated was really when the ball was put down in scrimmage-type atmospheres or live action, that's what I needed to see and he was a little more productive in those situations than Miller.
"Obviously, both guys are elite. Both guys will continue to compete. I talked to both of them about it -- 'Miller, have a chip on your shoulder and continue to compete' and 'Jaxson, compete like heck to hold the job.' ... They made it a very respectful competition and will continue to compete all the way through."
Dart came into USC after setting Utah state records on the way to an undefeated state championship season at Corner Canyon High School, for which he was named the Gatorade national player of the year.
Moss, who starred at nearby Bishop Alemany HS, did not get to play his senior season due to the pandemic wiping out the fall high school season in California.
Helton elaborated on his message to Moss regarding the decision.
"I told him, you have to make decisions in the moment, what's best for the team in the moment. And I told him the story of I've been in this situation before, having an older quarterback in Matt Barkley and having to make a decision between Max Wittek and Cody Kessler and at first Max was the No. 2 and Cody was the No. 3 and Cody was very disappointed, and I told him that, This is your role right now -- doesn't mean it's going to be that role in the future but you need to continue to improve and progress and compete and remember it's the best player in the moment,'" Helton said.
"I remember him having that chip on his shoulder and carrying it all the way through the fall, all the way through the spring and then you look up and he was the starting quarterback after Max left. So going into this first game, that's where it's at. I look forward to hopefully I'd love to be up in some games and be able to get both kids valuable reps within games and give them college experience. It's one of the beautiful things about the new rule as far as having four games to play before you have to make a decision to redshirt or not, kids get experience, and that's an evaluation tool too -- how well do they handle the Coliseum when it's filled and the lights are on and you have to play. Hopefully we get to those opportunities to allow both kids to show what they can do in live action in college football."
