Riley tabs Moss as clear favorite in USC QB race
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Paolo Uggetti, ESPN
LOS ANGELES — After a spring game that featured four interceptions by USC’s three quarterbacks, head coach Lincoln Riley said Saturday that longtime backup Miller Moss is the front-runner in the competition to replace outgoing Heisman winner Caleb Williams under center.
“He’s certainly ahead right now, there’s no question about that,” Riley said. “We’re in a position right now where we don’t have to name a starter. … If we played today, it would certainly be Miller.”
Moss, who has been at USC since 2021 and spent the past two years behind Williams, threw two interceptions Saturday, but Riley contended that he was still pleased with Moss’ overall performance and praised his play during the Trojans’ spring camp.
“He’s been awesome,” Riley said of Miller. “He’s played at a really high level.”
Saturday was Moss’ first on-field performance since his record-breaking six-touchdown game against Louisville in last year’s Holiday Bowl. Moss’ showcase in that game was good enough that Riley and USC’s staff felt compelled to acquire only a younger quarterback from the transfer portal and not seek out an older, multiyear transfer as well. Coming into the spring game, the expectation was that Moss had the inside track on the starting job, and Riley confirmed as much after the game Saturday.
“I don’t think my mentality or approach has been predicated on what [Riley] says about the quarterback position,” Moss said regarding his status as the favorite for the position.
Since the start of spring camp, Moss has had to adapt to a new role. Without Williams as the de facto leader, Moss has had to balance out his newfound leadership on the team with his own development. Riley pointed out that Moss was slow to start camp, having a few practices that were not up to his level, but then quickly bounced back and was “lights out all spring.”
“It’s not that you have success once and then it’s all easy after that,” Moss said. “There’s ebbs and flows of this thing, so there’s going to be more adversity coming up this year, and I feel like we’re well-equipped to handle that.”
Behind Moss, sophomore Jayden Maiava, who transferred from UNLV after a 3,000-yard freshman season, is “improving rapidly,” according to Riley, but needs more time to settle into the offense and the team.
“It’s a climb for him right now,” Riley said. “He’s a hard worker, he’s a talented kid. He gets better every day, and you can just see the wires connecting a little bit more.”
Regardless of who lines up under center in the fall, on Saturday, Riley gushed about the progress and growth — literally — of the offensive line who will be protecting the Trojans’ starting quarterback.
“I do think we’re going to have the ability, it feels like right now, to move more people off of the ball than maybe we have had in the first two years,” Riley said. “We got a little bit more mass, a little bit more kind of girth with us. We are starting to look more like you feel like the O-line at USC all it look like. And I think that’s very exciting.”
WASHINGTON — Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola‘s first start after returning from the injured list didn’t last long.
The right-hander allowed six runs in 2⅓ innings Sunday against the Washington Nationals, a start that ended when seven consecutive batters reached safely.
Nola struck out four in his first major league outing since May 14.
The former All-Star was one of the majors’ most durable pitchers entering the season, making at least 32 starts and throwing at least 180⅔ innings in each of the last six full seasons. But a sprained right ankle and fractured rib cost him three months this season.
His return became even more significant Saturday when Philadelphia placed ace Zack Wheeler on the injured list with a blood clot in his right arm. Nola already was scheduled to start after making three minor league rehabilitation appearances, though the Phillies scrapped their plans to use a six-man rotation.
Nola gave up Luis Garcia Jr.’s leadoff single in the first inning, then appeared to settle in. He retired the next seven batters as Philadelphia built a 6-0 lead.
The Nationals stitched together three consecutive singles in the third, the last by CJ Abrams to score a run. That led to a mound visit from pitching coach Caleb Cotham, but Nola then walked Paul DeJong before giving up Daylen Lile‘s two-run single and Dylan Crews‘ two-run double. Jose Tena followed with a tying double to end Nola’s day.
Nola allowed seven hits while throwing 53 pitches. His ERA rose to 6.92.
In addition to Nola taking Wheeler’s roster spot, the Phillies activated third baseman Alec Bohm from the injured list and optioned infielder Otto Kemp to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. To make room on the 40-man roster for Nola, Philadelphia released outfielder Cal Stevenson.
CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Reds outfielder Jake Fraley was designated for assignment on Sunday, with catcher Tyler Stephenson‘s thumb injury and a short bench contributing to the decision.
The Reds also recalled right-hander Connor Phillips and outfielder Will Benson from Triple-A Louisville and optioned left-hander Joe La Sorsa to Triple-A.
“We came to the idea of kind of giving Jake a chance to play where maybe he thinks he deserves to play, which I understand, is maybe better than him sitting the bench here,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “Stephenson is banged up. We were a little concerned about playing short, maybe a two-man bench.”
Fraley, 30, is in his fifth major-league season, his fourth with Cincinnati. He is batting .232 with six home runs and 23 RBI in 67 games.
He hyperextended his knee after making an error in left field to allow a run to score in the 10th inning of a 6-5, 11-inning loss to the first-place Brewers on Saturday. Francona said neither the miscue nor the injury factored into the DFA move.
Stephenson reaggravated an injury to his left thumb during the Pittsburgh series and is day to day. Jose Trevino, who was behind the plate Saturday night, got the start for Sunday’s day game.
Francona said the decision on Fraley, a popular player among fans and in the clubhouse, wasn’t easy.
“Not that I needed an excuse to lose sleep last night, but you do, because you’re thinking about it,” Francona said. “You’re making decisions that alter their life. The day when I stop thinking about it, I will re-retire.”
Cincinnati, the only team this season that hasn’t been swept in a series, has dropped the first two games of the three-game set against the Brewers, who have won 14 straight games.
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