Is USC football quarterback battle really open? Media guide holds hints

USC football’s quarterback battle is the biggest unknown of the offseason, but  if you read the tea leaves in the Trojans’ media guide, maybe it’s not.

Maybe we’ve officially reached the phase of the offseason when we’re prone to looking too closely for any hints about the results of USC football’s 2019 quarterback battle. But the Trojans’ media guide descriptions are…interesting on that front.

USC released the media guide on Monday with Fall Camp fast approaching. The media guide includes bios for each player and descriptions of expectations for each going into the new season.

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Here’s an example of how USC describes their players, specifically centers Brett Neilon and Justin Dedich:

“Neilon will battle for the starting center job as a sophomore in 2019.”

“Dedich will compete for the starting center spot as a redshirt freshman in 2019.”

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Indeed, Neilon and Dedich did battle for the starting center job in Spring Camp and are expected to pick that battle up in Fall Camp, even though the former appeared ahead in the race.

When it comes to the quarterbacks JT Daniels, Matt Fink and Jack Sears though, the descriptions are somewhat different.

Where Neilon and Dedich’s battle for the starting job was specifically referenced, that’s not the case with the QBs:

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“Daniels returns as a sophomore in 2019 with a year as USC’s starting quarterback under his belt.”

“Fink, equally effective as a passer and runner, will compete for playing time at quarterback as a junior in 2019.”

“Sears will compete for playing time at quarterback as a sophomore in 2019.”

Competing for “playing time” isn’t exactly what fans are thinking of when the topic of an open quarterback battle is floated.

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Again, this may be reading way too much into word choice in a media guide, but there were certainly better ways to describe the situation if the outcome of the competition for the starting job were more in doubt.

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For instance, in 2016 when Max Browne and Sam Darnold spent the offseason locking horns for the top spot on the depth chart, here’s what the media guide said:

“Browne, USC’s most experienced quarterback, will battle for the starting job as a junior in 2016.”

“Darnold, a promising redshirt freshman quarterback, will battle for the starting job in 2016.”

Sure sounds a lot different.

Fall Camp is only two weeks away, so answers relating to the quarterbacks are coming down the line.

Still, reading the tea leaves in the media guide, and elsewhere, it looks like Daniels’ job to lose.

That may not mean the quarterback battle is entirely closed. It just doesn’t feel entirely open either.