Nearly nine years ago, Pete Carroll made a historic decision for the USC program: He tabbed Matt Barkley as starting quarterback, making Barkley the first true freshman ever to start the season under center for the Trojans.
USC announced Sunday night that 18-year-old JT Daniels will join fellow Mater Dei High School alum Barkley in that exclusive group. After reclassifying to enroll in college a year early, Daniels impressed throughout fall camp and showed that his arm gave USC’s offense the highest potential ceiling.
This decision also shows that USC coach Clay Helton was unafraid to roll the dice on a teenager leading his team, having learned his lesson from two years ago.