Many quarterbacks in Miller Moss' position, with his recruiting profile might have looked elsewhere by now.

He played behind Kedon Slovis and Jaxson Dart as a freshman. He backed up Caleb Williams last season and will do so again this year. And then there is five-star freshman Malachi Nelson to contend with now, along with any other additions Lincoln Riley and the Trojans bring in by the time they need to officially identify Williams' successor.

But that's kind of always been the story for Moss at USC.

The No. 8-ranked pro-style quarterback in the 2021 recruiting class, he was the second four-star QB commit to the Trojans that cycle, following Jake Garcia. When Garcia later flipped to Miami, the Trojans landed Dart in that same class before he ultimately transferred to Ole Miss after his freshman season when the buzz of Williams transferring in from Oklahoma started mounting.

All the while, Moss has maintained the same outlook, answered these questions the same way and by all accounts backed it up with his work ethic and consistency.

"It's definitely been a whirlwind of a time. But yeah, I think when I committed I said 'You're either going to compete now or you're going to compete later going into draft or whatever it is' -- you can't hide from that at some level," Moss said "... You can't hide from competition at any level of this game and I try to embrace it as much as I can."

What his lack of game experience belies -- he's attempted 27 passes over the last two seasons -- are the gains he's made behind the scenes these last two years.

Perhaps some of that became evident for fans last Saturday during USC's spring game when Moss led the offense for five series while looking decisive in the pocket and athletic enough to extend plays when his protection broke down (as it too often did).

Officially, Moss finished 9-of-17 passing for 94 yards and an interception that was initially ruled a touchdown (more on that later), but more important than the raw numbers is that he looked the part -- like a QB who could step in and be productive if Williams misses any time this season.