Malachi Nelson’s departure creates many QB questions for USC and Lincoln Riley
The USC Trojans are going through a ton of changes right now. One is at the quarterback position. Five-star recruit Malachi Nelson, who was injured in the spring and was not able to get many snaps behind Caleb Williams in his freshman season, has decided to enter the transfer portal.
This leaves Miller Moss as USC’s only option for the Holiday Bowl against Louisville. Beyond that, it creates a lot of questions regarding USC’s activity in the portal and the Trojans’ future at the position.
We’re going to give you the immediate social media reaction to Nelson’s departure, followed by analysis of what this means for USC football and Lincoln Riley. There’s a lot to sort out here:
THE NEWS
USC five-star freshman QB Malachi Nelson is expected to enter the transfer portal, sources tell @247sports
https://t.co/6Cw7NKmknb pic.twitter.com/Y9ll08gSXL
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) December 18, 2023
CONTEXT
There were five 5-star QBs in the class of 2023.
Two, UCLA's Dante Moore and USC's Malachi Nelson, have hit the portal after one season.
One, OU's Jackson Arnold, will get his first start in the bowl game,
The others are Arch Manning and Tennessee's Nico Iamaleava.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) December 18, 2023
OVERVIEW
Without Malachi Nelson, USC currently has just two scholarship QB’s, Miller Moss and Jake Jensen.
If USC brings in a transfer QB like Kansas State’s Will Howard, that’s just a one-year rental. The next QB Riley currently has committed is Juju Lewis … in the 2026 class https://t.co/vncjE8WOcU
— Ryan Kartje (@Ryan_Kartje) December 18, 2023
AN OPINION
Don't bother signing 5 star QBs out of high school unless you're planning to start them from day one. https://t.co/vcWb0ACrqg
— Gord Randall (@GARandall) December 18, 2023
PREMATURE
The people who proclaimed him as Caleb’s “heir apparent” the second he committed are the same people who value recruiting rankings more than actual play on the field. https://t.co/h7KLmXKXhv
— Adam Bradford (@Adam_Bradford14) December 18, 2023
SOME ARE SURPRISED
Are you kidding me dawg https://t.co/oLoUBDEOGc
— Shady (@ShadySaiyan) December 18, 2023
UCLA FAN IS PAYING ATTENTION
chip kelly and lincoln riley in a Run Elite QB Talent Out of the City Challenge https://t.co/8etDEjlPxz
— carlos: a pac-12 mourner 🍉 (@equitybruin) December 18, 2023
ACCURATE
HS recruiting *used to be* a pretty good indicator of future success. Now guys who sign are like verbals used to be. https://t.co/bREaURIUVD
— Kyle Bonagura (@BonaguraESPN) December 18, 2023
DIDN'T MEASURE UP
Not entirely surprising if you read between the lines of some of Riley’s quotes on Nelson. There was a growing sense throughout the season that Nelson was not going to be the guy to supplant Williams next year or beyond. https://t.co/z0iFmK86cP
— Paolo Uggetti (@PaoloUggetti) December 18, 2023
PLAYERS HAVING THE CHOICE TO MOVE AROUND IS GOOD, THOUGH
College football is broken. I believe the athletes should get paid for the commitment they make to train, practice, & play… But someone has to draw a line in the sand b/c this is becoming fantasy football. Fresh draft every year and hoping you get good picks “portal” players. https://t.co/XFZgUL9oVG
— Zach Southwick (@zsouthwick) December 18, 2023
IT'S NOT THAT BAD
Things apparently are not going well in SoCal: https://t.co/5ELFOwwqKv
— Brett Gibbons (@roadtocfb) December 18, 2023
AND THEY PROBABLY DO
This is so bad for the Trojans (unless they already have a commit waiting from the transfer portal) https://t.co/h3iOpm8FDN
— Ethan Fore (@ethan_fore) December 18, 2023
ALWAYS
Transfer portal is wild https://t.co/h3279SGbRe
— Ben Golan (@BenjaminGolan) December 18, 2023
NOT SURPRISING TO US
This is actually surprising to me https://t.co/xLpPtEOTtI
— Jamie (@JCal_88) December 18, 2023
WOULD THAT BE BAD?
Lincoln Riley is gonna choose Will Howard over Malachi Nelson? https://t.co/E6NChVLX0m
— 👁 (@DynastyOsu) December 18, 2023
VERY
Interesting … https://t.co/JOEVRNpS8z
— Josh Furlong (@JFurKSL) December 18, 2023
SAYS WHO?
This…can’t be good. https://t.co/6mpSFz40px
— Carl Suddler (@Prof_Suddler) December 18, 2023
IS THIS A PROBLEM?
Oh Lincoln https://t.co/TalVjB0OgP
— Tim (@Sole0526) December 18, 2023
BIG MOVE
— Cole Robicheaux (@Miserable_PhD) December 18, 2023
PEOPLE ARE SAYING THIS
— JD (@Jaylan_D1) December 18, 2023
BECAUSE RILEY IS BRINGING IN A PORTAL QB
— @AaronTheH on Threads (@AaronTheH) December 18, 2023
BUSY TIMES
Updating stretch run for #USC:
Jide Abasiri commits
Lorenzo Cowan commits
Mario Williams portal
QB Will Howard on campus
Michael Tarquin portal
Donte Williams resigns
Doug Belk hired as DB coach
Brothers Arnold commit
Kalolo Ta'aga commits
Malachi Nelson portal— Chris Treviño (@ChrisNTrevino) December 18, 2023
LOL!
Wouldn’t it be wild if Dante Moore transferred to USC and Malachi Nelson transferred to UCLA. Do not see that happening, but that would be wild haha
— Ryan Dyrud (@RyanDyrudLAFB) December 18, 2023
YEAH
The fact that Lincoln Riley has been jet setting all over the country the last three weeks aggressively recruiting B- quarterbacks was probably a good sign that Malachi Nelson wasn't the future of the QB position at USC 🤷♂️🤷♂️ https://t.co/1lTQKDP3OQ
— Aaron Torres (@Aaron_Torres) December 18, 2023
RILEY QUOTE ON NELSON
This is what Lincoln Riley said less than two weeks ago about Malachi Nelson. Nelson is now in the transfer portal. https://t.co/MHCYq35x17
— Ryan Kartje (@Ryan_Kartje) December 18, 2023
CONNECTION
Malachi Nelson portalling after Riley chases a portal QB? pic.twitter.com/W9wulehvPL
— Charlie (@CharlieS_TFB) December 18, 2023
IT SEEMED LIKELY
Malachi Nelson gone. Fine with it.
— Ry (@JustRyCole) December 18, 2023
EVERYONE REACTS DIFFERENTLY
waking up to the Malachi Nelson news is upsetting
— Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) December 18, 2023
KEY QUESTION
People aren’t asking the right question.
Malachi Nelson isn’t leaving because he doesn’t want to sit two years.
He’s leaving because he was not capable of being the QB that Riley needed.
Either it wasn’t a great evaluation or there was no development made. Probably both. https://t.co/GXFNzKprht
— Barry of “The Barry & Mack Show” (B. Wise Fitness) (@bwisefitness) December 18, 2023
OUR ANALYSIS, BEGINNING WITH MAALIK MURPHY
Texas QB Maalik Murphy to USC becomes a much more realistic possibility https://t.co/6DoqH8eNze pic.twitter.com/BhkUzNOBtO
— USC Trojans Wire (@TrojansWire) December 18, 2023
WILL HOWARD
Will Howard makes his campus visit to USC as QB portal drama builds https://t.co/vNW13kG8wW pic.twitter.com/dGB77UnYY8
— USC Trojans Wire (@TrojansWire) December 17, 2023
CAM WARD
With Dillon Gabriel in play for Oregon, Cam Ward speculation heats up at USC https://t.co/Dr019N3CvP pic.twitter.com/pLSHAhjtyB
— USC Trojans Wire (@TrojansWire) December 11, 2023
JULIAN LEWIS
Riley has the top quarterback in the Class of 2026, Julian Lewis, but this Malachi Nelson story offers a reminder that long-term waiting games don’t mean a whole lot when immediate situations can change on the ground. No one should think Lewis is a lock to play for Riley and USC in 2026, if only because so many things will happen in the next three years. Don’t spend too much time worrying about 2026 recruits … until 2026 or late 2025 at the earliest.
THE REALITY OF QBS AT TOP PROGRAMS
Three of the four 2023 Heisman Trophy finalists were transfer portal quarterbacks. That’s the way the game is played today. Quarterback is an individual position requiring individual quality. One- or two-year portal rentals are how the top programs and coaches frequently fill their needs at football’s most important position. This is not a position where recruiting must be strong. Portal acquisitions can instantly fix quarterback problems. That’s an important part of the perspective on the Malachi Nelson decision.
RILEY'S PLAN
Is Lincoln Riley trying to bring both Will Howard and Maalik Murphy to USC, or is he intent on getting just one of the two?
If he wants to bring both to USC, would he hand the keys over to Howard in 2024 — with Murphy being the guy for 2025 — or play both men interchangeably?
BIG PICTURE
Riley and other coaches have to ask themselves if they can sell a quarterback in the portal on sharing snaps with another portal quarterback, or if they have to guarantee QB1 status in order to close the sale with portal quarterbacks.
In an ideal world, Riley would bring in both Howard and Murphy and play both of them in spots. This would give USC’s offense a lot more diversity, since Howard and Murphy are two different kinds of athletes. Realistically, though, would either Howard or Murphy come to USC knowing they might split snaps? Probably not.
The likely outcome is that only one will come to USC, not two. However, if coaches can sell players on a split-snap arrangement, they could really enhance their programs — not just at USC, but anywhere.
