Kiffin announces Kessler, Wittek to play in season opener


USC head coach Lane Kiffin announced Saturday that both Cody Kessler and Max Wittek will see time at quarterback in the team’s season opener at Hawai’i on Thursday.

The redshirt sophomores have been in competition for the starting job since the spring, and the competition remains unsettled. Kiffin indicated that he will not decide on which quarterback will start the game until after the team arrives in Hawaii, according to Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times.

“We’ve got two guys we feel great about,” Kiffin said. “We don’t feel that we have to limit our offense with either one of them in there.”

In the team’s official depth chart, which was released Saturday, both Kessler and Wittek are listed as co-starters, and several other positions have co-starters listed as well. The two quarterbacks have alternated reps with the first team offense throughout fall camp, and Kiffin has not seen enough separation between the two to tab either one as the starter.

Kickoff for Thursday’s game against Hawai’i is set for 5:00 p.m. HST.