Three months after finishing his third year of high school, JT Daniels is the starting quarterback of USC.
Coach Clay Helton released a statement on Sunday confirming Daniels as the starter and praising the other quarterbacks in advance of USC's season opener against UNLV on Saturday.
"We had a very healthy quarterback competition this year with four incredible young men," said Helton.
Daniels, a true freshman, won the competition over redshirt sophomore Matt Fink, Holden Thomas, and redshirt freshman Jack Sears. "Matt, Jack and Holden handled the decision with class and grace as I expected, and I reminded each that they need to keep pushing to be ready to play when called upon," said Helton.
"I was proud of how I competed for the job in the spring and fall, so I was disappointed to learn of the decision, said Fink, USC's only quarterback with collegiate experience, in the press release. On the depth chart, Fink received the No. 2 spot on the Trojans roster, with Sears in the No. 3 spot and Holden with the No. 4 spot.
Daniels, who left Mater Dei High School a year early, will have the opportunity to lead the Trojans against a tough slate of early season opponents, beginning with UNLV at the Coliseum next weekend. Daniels will join Matt Barkley as the second USC true freshman quarterback to start a season.
"I understand this is a huge responsibility and I need to work hard to be prepared to handle it," said Daniels in the statement.
Daniels, a pro-style quarterback, announced his decision to reclassify and enroll at USC after receiving the 2017 Gatorade National Football Player of the Year Award and leading Mater Dei to a national championship.
Daniels will replace Sam Darnold, who was drafted third overall in the 2018 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. Darnold recorded a record 4,143 yards last season with 26 touchdowns.
JT Daniels is similar in stature to Darnold, both standing 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighing around 220 pounds. Both are pro-style quarterbacks and come from heralded high school football programs in Orange County.
USC is coming off an 11-3 season in which they won the Pac-12 Championship win over Stanford. The Trojans received a preseason No. 15 ranking in the Associated Press poll, one of four Pac-12 schools to make the list. The season will feature two early-season tough ranked away matchups against No. 13 Stanford and No. 23 Texas.
"As you can imagine JT was excited when we let him know, but his uncanny maturity kept him focused on what is next," said Helton.
Daniels’ performance against UNLV on Saturday will be the first opportunity to see whether he is truly prepared to lead the Trojans.