Since he was a child, Miller Moss dreamed of becoming USC’s starting quarterback. He followed that dream as a touted prospect into a crowded quarterback room at USC. And he waited three years as a backup, waiting for the right time as many others in his class fled to the transfer portal instead.

Moss’ chance to lead the USC offense lasted through a standout bowl performance and nine games of an up-and-down season before Moss was replaced by his own replacement and the window to his dream school suddenly closed.

On Monday morning, three weeks after being traded, Moss officially announced that he planned to enter the transfer portal and leave USC after four seasons.

“Being a USC Trojan has been a lifelong dream of mine,” he wrote. “I put everything I have into it – body, heart, mind and soul – and am humbled and proud of what my teammates and I have achieved and fought with body and soul.”

In nine games as USC’s starter this season, Moss threw for 2,555 yards and 18 touchdowns, totals that were among the Big Ten’s best on paper. But with Moss at the helm, the Trojans’ offense also proved significantly less dynamic than in previous runs. In all five USC losses, critical mistakes from Moss would prove incredibly costly down the stretch.

The circumstances at USC weren’t exactly ideal for Moss either. The Trojans’ offense struggled greatly in the first half of the season, while Moss was often asked to do too much to get the offense going. He threw 50 or more passes in three different games despite USC having one of the Big Ten’s best running backs in the same backfield.

USC slipped to 4-5 with Moss as the starter before Lincoln Riley decided to take the offense in a different direction. He replaced Moss with Jayden Maiava, a transfer from Nevada Las Vegas whose dual-threat skills are more similar to other quarterbacks who have excelled under Riley.

In an interview with ESPN on Monday, Moss said he’s had a “tough last three weeks” since sitting on the bench. But he expressed gratitude for his four years at USC. Moss now has one year of eligibility to use him elsewhere as a graduate transfer.

It’s possible that Moss stays in the same conference — and maybe even faces USC at some point next season. Several Big Ten teams are in dire need of a quarterback. Moss viewed Michigan as a recruit and said earlier this season that he enjoyed his visit to Ann Arbor. UCLA, in desperate need of a starting-caliber quarterback, might even consider making that decision.

He first came to USC in January 2021, with Clay Helton as coach and fellow four-star quarterback Jaxson Dart in the same class. But when Riley arrived, Dart and former starter Kedon Slovis left. Moss stayed even after Riley brought highly touted transfer Caleb Williams from Oklahoma. It would be two more years before Williams won the Heisman Trophy before Moss took the reins.

Moss will have no shortage of suitors looking to offer him that shot this offseason, regardless of how his tenure at USC ends.

It started on a high note when Moss led the Trojans to an impressive season-opening win over Louisiana State, throwing for 378 yards and leading a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter. The Tigers’ defense did not allow more than 300 yards of passes in any game the rest of the season.

He was even better in the Holiday Bowl nine months earlier, when Moss scored six touchdowns in his debut win over Louisville.

When fireworks exploded over the field after that game at Petco Park in San Diego, Moss beamed. Teammates clamored for him to be crowned quarterback, and Riley joked in his postgame press conference that Moss had probably scared off any would-be transfers anyway.

But a year later, Riley had chosen a new direction. Now it was Moss who left USC.