LOS ANGELES — About six months ago, Garrett Nussmeier texted Miller Moss to say happy birthday.
It was the last time the two communicated, young men more concerned with the opportunities in their hands than the frills of their stories, and yet perhaps unable to fully appreciate the significance of their paths crossing again Sunday in Las Vegas.
They came to know each other first through the finals of the Elite 11 in 2020, a national quarterback competition whittled down to 12 of the best prep QBs in the country. As others in the class would slump in the back at times, fiddling with their phones, longtime Elite 11 instructor Craig Nall remembered, Moss and Nussmeier would be at the front of meeting rooms asking questions. Mechanics. Football. Timing.
Four years later, three of those 12 in that 2020 class have graduated early to the NFL: Drake Maye, JJ McCarthy and Caleb Williams. The rest have largely chased opportunity across the country, diving into the portal after the COVID-19 pandemic sent modern quarterback development into disarray, giving established collegiate arms an extra year of eligibility.
All have transferred, a trend that only continues to grow in majority for collegiate quarterbacks, except for three: Liberty’s Kaidon Salter, Moss and Nussmeier.
“I think this is the last year,” local quarterback trainer Danny Hernandez said, “that you’re going to see an opportunity for the old-school way of the Miller Moss, the Garrett Nussmeier.”
They will duel in Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium, for Week 1’s season opener Sunday afternoon, as two trusted shot-callers who’ve earned respect in sitting through three years as backups and two years as backups to Heisman winners. The similarities of their trajectories, too, are lengthy. Eerie, even.
Williams transferred into USC in 2022, beating Moss for the job; Jayden Daniels transferred into LSU in 2022, beating Nussmeier for the job. Moss is listed at 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds; Nussmeier is listed at 6-foot-2 and 200. Moss stamped his claim to the job in 2024 on the heels of a breakout in 2023’s Holiday Bowl; Nussmeier stamped his claim on the heels of a breakout in 2023’s ReliaQuest Bowl.
And both will lead programs in need of prove-it seasons against a new-look defense with a new coordinator – LSU’s Blake Baker, USC’s D’Anton Lynn – on Sunday.
“He was always a good kid that loved ball, and obviously a good player,” Moss said of Nussmeier. “So, excited to see him.”
They were both destined to be here, in some way. USC is in Moss’ DNA, his mother Emily pregnant with him while she was a teacher at USC’s School of Architecture. Football, simply, is in Nussmeier’s, the son of former NFL quarterback and coach Doug Nussmeier.
They both stood out as high school seniors, more than anything, as outstanding processors, Elite 11 coach Justin Hoover remembered. This, too, was innate, in some way. In elementary school at Willows Community School, a fellow teacher would come into Brent Weiss’ classroom and tell him a 9-year-old Moss was somehow reading defenses and calling audibles during recess. In the eighth grade, as Nall reviewed Nussmeier’s middle-school game tape, he noticed the same quick instincts, the kid checking his protection at the line of scrimmage.
USC’s fate Sunday, then, will likely be decided in who adapts better to playing off-schedule.
Nussmeier has a cannon and some athleticism, but has gone just 2 of 11 when under pressure in his three-year collegiate career, according to Pro Football Focus; his lone interception of the ReliaQuest Bowl came on an ill-advised cross-body attempt after being flushed out of the pocket. USC’s beefed-up defensive line will need to grind to collapse the pocket and make Nussmeier sweat, but that’ll be a tough task, as LSU returns four key offensive linemen from a strong line.
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Moss, meanwhile, told media he had “100% confidence” in his offensive line heading into Vegas. The Trojans, however, could wind up starting freshmen at left tackle and right guard in Elijah Paige and Amos Talalele, respectively, putting an even-greater emphasis on Moss’ ability to play on time and make smart decisions when facing pressure.
“Those would be two things that I would like to watch, is, doing it from the pocket versus – or, being asked to move in the pocket,” Hoover said, “I think will be interesting.”
No. 23 USC vs. No. 13 LSU
When: 4:30 p.m. Sunday
Where: Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas
TV/radio: ABC/ESPN LA 710 AM
