Redshirt junior quarterback Miller Moss may have been USC’s best-kept secret. Sitting for three years before getting his first regular-season start, Moss has made the most of his opportunities so far this season.

No. 13 USC currently has a 2-1 with an 0-1 record in the Big Ten, and Moss has been a large part of the Trojans’ successes. After showing out in the Holiday Bowl to finish last season, Moss was handed the reins to Head Coach Lincoln Riley’s offense. For the most part, Moss has lived up to the expectations he set during that postseason performance.

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Through his first three regular season games, Moss has completed 65% of his passes for 890 yards, 5 touchdowns and one interception. He’s posted a 141.2 passing efficiency rating through these starts to go along with his two wins — one over a ranked opponent. The three years he sat waiting for this opportunity seems to have paid off.

Not every Trojan quarterback has had a similar journey as Moss. Let’s see how Moss’ first three regular season starts match up with the first three regular season starts of some of the greatest Trojan quarterbacks in recent memory.

Matt Barkley — USC quarterback 2009-2012

Barkley is USC’s all-time passing and passing touchdowns leader, touting 12,327 yards and 116 touchdowns across his three-year career. He has nearly 1,000 more yards and nearly 20 more touchdowns than the next closest player. Barkley was an All-American and an All-Pacific-12 team member during his time wearing cardinal and gold.

Unlike Moss, Barkley was thrown right into the fire his freshman year. Barkley won the starting job in 2009 after graduating high school a semester early and impressing in spring practice. He had an up-and-down true freshman year overall, but in his first three starts, he showed flashes of what he would become for the Trojans.

In his first three starts, Barkley totaled 675 yards with 3 touchdowns and one interception, completing just under 60% of his passes. In the raw counting stats, Moss has him beat, but Barkley seemed to be slightly more efficient than Moss over these games. Barkley put up a 149.4 passing efficiency rating and just over 9 yards per attempt, compared to Moss’ 7.6 yards per attempt.

Mark Sanchez — USC quarterback 2005-2008

Before leading the New York Jets to consecutive AFC Championships in his first two seasons, Sanchez was making waves under center for USC. In his junior year, he led the Trojans to 13 wins and threw for 413 yards in the Rose Bowl that year. Unlike Moss and Barkley, Sanchez was thrust into the starring role six games into his redshirt freshman season.

Then-starting quarterback John David Booty went down with an injury, and Sanchez became the starter for three games. He started out on a good note, winning games against Arizona and Notre Dame before falling to Oregon, where Booty came back from his injury and became the starter again.

In those games, Sanchez threw for 7 touchdowns and 642 yards but showed his inexperience with four interceptions. He wasn’t nearly as efficient as Moss — posting just 5.8 yards per attempt — but was able to find the endzone more often and be a more potent part of the USC offense.

Sam Darnold — USC quarterback 2015-2017

Another former Jets quarterback, Darnold, has been balling out so far this fall for the Minnesota Vikings. But when he was back in Los Angeles, Darnold was lights out for the Trojans. He sat out his first season, opting to redshirt, then took over as the USC starter three games into his redshirt freshman campaign.

Darnold took the most of his opportunity and started flinging the football all over the field. After his first three starts, he totaled 963 yards with 6 touchdowns and only one interception. He had near-perfect accuracy, completing just under 70% of his passes with an otherworldly 171.6 passing efficiency rating. Similarly to Moss, Darnold went 2-1 in his first three games. Darnold went on to win 10 straight games as a starter for the Trojans, including his notorious Rose Bowl victory over Penn State.

All of the quarterbacks on the list showed some signs of dominance early on and built on that throughout the rest of their USC careers. Each of them had different paths — from day one starters to second-stringers propelled into the starting role — and Moss has many games left to meet and surpass the standard set by these iconic Trojan quarterbacks.