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Orange County Register's Michael Lev wrote an interesting blog piece this morning talking about the growth of backup quarterback Max Browne. In the article, USC coaches rave about the transition the former Gatorade National Player of the Year has made this spring.
Max Browne virtually won every award possible during his high school career at Skyline High School in Sammamish, Washington. The 6'5" redshirt sophomore was compared to ex-Trojan star Matt Barkley coming out of high school and there was a sense around college football that Browne could come in and start from day one. Well, he didn't, and after redshirting in 2013, Browne appeared in six games last year, completing three of his seven attempts for a grand total of 30 passing yards.
Obviously Browne wasn't used in 2014 due to the fact that Cody Kessler put up record-breaking numbers last year. But despite hardly playing in 2014, Browne was named one of the recipients of USC's Co-Lifter of the Year Award.
This part of the piece stood out to me the most: "Whatever differences exist between Browne and Kessler’s games, the coaches believe they wouldn’t have to change anything if Browne had to play."
That is huge. If Kessler went down with an injury and Browne came in and the offense stayed the same, the Trojans would catch a huge break.
Max Browne could be the starting quarterback in 2016. Then again, USC will have at least four quarterbacks competing for the job.
For the full article, click here.