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The college football regular season came to a close on Saturday, and now the offseason festivities can begin. It's not the offseason quite yet as we still have bowl games and we still have the College Football Playoff, but a lot of teams are done. One of the most entertaining parts of the college football offseason these days is the transfer portal. It's only been a couple of days, but we are already seeing some big-name players put their name in. One of those players is USC quarterback Miller Moss.
Miller Moss has been with the USC football team since 2021, but this was his first season actually starting for the Trojans. He has been behind Caleb Williams the past couple of seasons, and because of that, there was a lot of pressure on him.
Caleb Williams was a sensational college QB and he ended up being the first overall pick in the NFL Draft. That's a tough act for Moss to follow, but he did put up some decent numbers this season before the Trojans decided to give Jayden Maiava a shot.
In nine games this season, he was 233-362 through the air for 2,555 yards, 19 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He completed over 64% of his passes. Moss showed that he can be elite, but he didn't have what it takes to be the QB of an offense that is run like USC's.
Moss needed to do a lot for USC to be successful, and he made too many mistakes. The nine turnovers were too many. He needs to be able to do a better job of taking care of the football, and if he is in an offense that doesn't rely on him to be the hero, he can get the job done.
It hasn't been long since Miller Moss announced his decision to enter the transfer portal, but we are already seeing some schools pop up as potential good fits. In fact, there has even already been a report of four schools that Moss is expected to consider. Those four schools are Michigan, Louisville, Iowa and Auburn.
“USC QB Miller Moss is expected to look at Michigan, Auburn, Iowa, and Louisville once he enters the NCAA Transfer Portal, per @PeteNakos_,” A post from On3 said.
All four of those schools would be good options for Moss. He has experience starting at a power four school and he would be a step up from the previous QB for all of these schools. There wouldn't be as much pressure on the shoulders of Moss at these schools, either. Let's take a deeper look at all four of them and why they would be a good fit.
Michigan
The best fit for Miller Moss might be the Michigan football team. The Wolverines are bringing in Bryce Underwood, the top player in the 2025 recruiting class, but they might not want him to start right away. Moss might be the perfect candidate to show Underwood the ropes while still allowing the youngster to get meaningful experience as a freshman.
ESPN's Max Olson thinks that Michigan is a team to watch.
“Michigan feels like more of a wild card in this recruiting process, because it's hard to tell what the Wolverines are going to do next with their QB room,” Olson wrote. “They just made a substantial eight-figure investment in No. 1 overall recruit Bryce Underwood to flip from LSU and be the future of the program. It's fair to assume that Michigan will see several of its backup QBs exit via the portal this offseason after redshirt junior Davis Warren eventually earned the job. The question now is this: What kind of transfer QB does Michigan need? Is the right fit a full-season starter or a veteran backup?”
Auburn
Auburn is another team to watch here, and they are a team that is losing QB talent to the transfer portal. Moss would be a step up from Payton Thorne, and he could be the QB that can finally lead the Tigers to a promising season.
“Auburn coach Hugh Freeze knows he needs to go get a transfer QB who can take the Tigers to the next level in 2025,” Olson continued. “Auburn has a ton of promising young talent to build around, especially at wide receiver, with standout true freshmen Cam Coleman, Malcolm Simmons and Perry Thompson. Their presence makes Auburn an appealing destination for QBs like Moss, who have one year left and are looking to put up big numbers next season.”
Louisville
Louisville is going to have options next year as they are expected to get a lot of backup talent back. However, are any of those backups going to be good enough to lead the Cardinals to an ACC title? Moss is someone that is bringing experience in, and that is more attractive than someone that hasn't started before.
“The Cardinals return several backups who'll want to compete for the starting job, including redshirt freshman Pierce Clarkson, redshirt junior Harrison Bailey and redshirt sophomore Brady Allen,” Olson said. “But don't be surprised if Louisville shoves all-in on a more experienced option like Moss who they can depend on to keep them in ACC title contention.”
Iowa
Lastly, we have Iowa. It was a bit surprising to see the Hawkeyes in the list of teams that Miller Moss could be exploring, but the Hawkeyes definitely do need a QB.
The last time Iowa went to the portal for a QB, it didn't work out very well. The Hawkeyes landed Cade McNamara from Michigan after the 2022 season, but he was never able to live up to expectations in Iowa City.
There definitely wouldn't be a ton of pressure for Moss at Iowa as expectations for that offense will be low, and they like to run the football. However, that offense lacks the weapons necessary for a QB to find success. McNamara led Michigan to a Big Ten title because the Wolverines still had elite receivers. He had a lot to work with. That is what Iowa lacks, and it makes things tough on QBs.
It's early, but right now, these are the teams to watch for Miller Moss.
