Clay Helton, USC players react to QB Jack Sears entering transfer portal

As the last USC players were streaming onto the practice field Tuesday with quarterback Jack Sears yet to arrive, suspicions were already mounting and were soon confirmed as the redshirt sophomore took to Twitter to announce he is indeed entering the NCAA transfer portal.

Sears was slotted No. 4 on the depth chart coming out of preseason camp despite being one of only two QBs on the roster with starting experience.

He declined to speak to reporters last Wednesday with the other quarterbacks after that news and this comes as no major surprise.

"This past week has been a difficult time, a bump in the road, and it makes me realize that life is not linear," Sears wrote in his Twitter announcement. "I love my teammates, football, USC, and the USC degree. Nobody can ever take that degree away from me. I am proud of the work that I put in on and off the field, the way I competed and how I have comported myself. Life is about making good and informed decisions.

"In an effort to make a good, informed and non-rushed decision, it is time for me to enter the portal."

Sears, who completes his USC degree this December, will have two years of immediate eligibility as a graduate transfer wherever he lands.

USC is left with three scholarship QBs in starter JT Daniels, the sophomore starter, freshman backup Kedon Slovis and veteran Matt Fink.

"I want to personally thank Jack for everything he's done for USC, our football family, my immediate family. I ask guys to do three things -- compete, give their absolute best effort and graduate from this university -- and Jack has done all three in a first-class manner," coach Clay Helton said after practice. "He is part of my family for life and wish him nothing but the best in the future. He is a special, special individual."

Daniels, who competed with Sears for the job last summer as well, also shared his reaction to Sears' decision.

"I just heard about it. Obviously all the quarterbacks and really the whole team's bummed out. Jack was my roommate at the hotels the whole year last year. He's really been like an older brother. He's been a great supporter for me, a great friend. I'm going to really miss Jack."

Daniels said he hadn't talked to Sears in the last few days with the start of classes and game prep ongoing.

Wide receiver Michael Pittman said he hadn't heard the news until he was asked about it after practice.

"That's actually the first time I heard that, so I wish him the best luck. I feel like he battled hard. I think that he's a great player and I feel like he deserved to go look for other opportunities elsewhere," Pittman said. "I couldn't me more proud of how he stayed here and battled for three years."

Sears drew one start last season against Arizona State, when Daniels was sidelined with a concussion, and completed 20 of 28 passes for 235 yards, 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions in a 38-35 loss at home.

Many fans wanted to Sears get more opportunity after that Arizona State game, but Daniels played the rest of the season. And once offensive coordinator Graham Harrell took over and installed his version of the Air Raid offense, it seemed clear it wasn't an ideal fit for Sears. His proclivity for running with the ball didn't mesh with Harrell's preference that his QBs instead make quick decisions and find an open receiver.

Harrell reiterated Monday on Trojans Live that Daniels won the job again because of his decisive play.

"It's who can process it, who can make decisions quickly, who can react full speed to people moving and things changing at a very fast pace," Harrell said. "So I think we had four guys that physically were good enough to play at this level, JT just processed it a lot quicker than the other [three] and that's what it came down to."

Slovis, meanwhile, has drawn high praise from Harrell dating back to the spring. He's repeatedly called the freshman quarterback a "special" talent and raves about his passing ability. It was not a surprise to observers of practice when he earned the No. 2 job, but it likely was a blunt surprise to the veteran QBs behind him.

"We went into the competition knowing that we had some elite talent at the position, but we also said we were going to go in with it, in those 30 practices that we got to evaluate, we were going to say, OK, we were going to rank who had given the absolute best production," Helton said of Sears' slide down the depth chart. "It didn't matter their age, it didn't matter how long they had been [here], it didn't matter how great a kid they are. It was about who produced and who was the most consistent and that's how we ranked them both as a head coach, as a coordinator and as an offensive staff."

Helton was asked if Sears had the option of remaining on the team in the fall while in the portal, and he said he did.

"He thought right now for himself that it was best for him to focus on his studies, focus on being able to visit with other people and he's done everything for us. I don't hold it against him at all," Helton said. "He's competed here, he's given his absolute best effort at all times, he's been a great teammate and now he's going to be a graduate of this university and that gives him the honor of going to play if he chooses to."