Max Browne: “I’m willing to go anywhere”

 

Redshirt junior quarterback Max Browne spoke to the media on Wednesday for the first time since head coach Clay Helton said he was granted permission to contact other schools, signifying Browne’s intentions to transfer.

After playing behind Cody Kessler for three years and then getting replaced by redshirt freshman Sam Darnold before a Week 4 loss at Utah, Browne decided that his time with the Men of Troy has an upcoming expiration date. On Wednesday, signal caller laid out his plans for the rest of his Trojan career.

“For the next few weeks at least, I’ll just see who contacts me,” Browne said. “Come December, maybe I’ll start reaching out to schools that I think would be a good fit … and see if there’s mutual interest on their end.”

Helton, who awarded Browne the starting job at the start of the season, praised Browne for his professionalism when making the announcement on Tuesday

“Max has been so good to us and so good to this football team and is a graduate, and that’s what’s most important,” Helton said. “He’s graduated from this University, and he’s done everything right. So, he deserves the opportunity to find his perfect fit, whether it’s here or someplace else.”

After backing up Kessler for three seasons, Browne entered camp with the expectation of competing for the starting job.

But upon beating Darnold in the fall’s quarterback competition, Browne struggled as a starter. The Trojans went 1-2 with him under center, including a season-opening 52-6 loss against Alabama.

Beyond a lackluster record, Browne was largely ineffective at leading the USC offense with just two passing touchdowns in three games and 507 passing yards.

And although his 63.7 percent completion was among tops in the Pac-12 during that span, his key incompletions late in drives allowed Darnold to step up and assume the starting job.

“You think about it right away,” Browne said after losing the starting job before the game against Utah. “You think about all the possibilities at hand, but at the end of the day, it’s only Week 4. There is a lot of ball to play, and so I’ll stay ready.”

Since being benched, Browne has watched Darnold and the Trojans win four of their past five games and put themselves back in contention in the Pac-12 South. From then, it didn’t take long for him to look elsewhere.

“I lost my job, but I still had one more year of eligibility: That’s the beauty of graduating early,” he said. “This is just part of the deal, I guess.”

With his decision to transfer, the former Gatorade National High School Player of the Year can join a new school as early as January to participate in winter and spring camps, and he is open to all options.

“I made sure my headline said ‘all NCAA schools’ for a reason: I’m willing to go anywhere,” Browne said. “That was the case out of high school, and it’s no different, if not more emphasized, now.”

Browne has one season of eligibility remaining and has been granted permission to contact any school, including those in the Pac-12. He can play immediately after transferring since he graduated last fall, bypassing NCAA rules for transfers to sit out a year.

Browne admitted he had some specific schools in mind but kept mum for now.

“To be completely honest, I don’t know how I want to juggle that moving forward, so I’m going to keep it to myself,” he said.

As he emphasized, Browne is eligible to transfer to all NCAA schools, including the Football Championship Subdivision. It’s likely not a destination the 21-year-old would prefer, but he wouldn’t rule anything out.

“It’ll be interesting. I think it’ll depend on the next month or so — what feelers I get,” he said. “Not saying it’s out of the question, but I guess we’ll just see the response I get from other schools.”

Considering the timing of this announcement, it appears that Darnold is looking at a lengthy starting career with USC. As for the rest of the season, Browne will continue to practice and can still earn the starting job should Darnold sustain injury.

Correction: A previous version of this article stated that Max Browne had a 1-3 record as a starter at USC. His record was 1-2, not 1-3. The Daily Trojan regrets the error.