Daniels will be only the second USC true freshman to start a season opener at quarterback. The other was fellow Santa Ana Mater Dei alum Matt Barkley, who got the nod in 2009 in the opener against San Jose State.
“In the end,” Helton said in a statement, “JT Daniels has earned the starting position and will be the starter against UNLV. As you can imagine JT was excited when we let him know, but his uncanny maturity kept him focused on what is next.
“At the completion of camp, it became clear to me and our staff that JT had taken a step ahead of Matt, Jack and Holden [Thomas].