Max Browne beats young star Darnold to USC starting quarterback

The wait is over

Fourth-year junior Max Browne will take the starting position of quarterback over redshirt freshman Sam Darnold, Clay Helton announced.

In statement, Helton said the choice was: “one of the toughest decisions in my college coaching career.

“At this point, we feel that it is in the best interest of our football team to lean on the veteran experience that Max Browne has.”

Although Browne has limited in-game experiences, he landed the job because he was consistent in practice, despite a rough start in scrimmages, throwing three interceptions in one game.

Of the three games that Browne played last year, he had a passer rating of 145.8 and his completion percentage was at 66.7.

It was a tough decision for Helton, as Darnold is a dual-threat quarterback. At San Clemente high school, Darnold had a passer rating of 123.6. He threw for almost 4,000 yards with a completion rate of .671. Even though Helton chose Browne over Darnold, after a couple of years, Darnold could be a Heisman candidate.

Becoming the starting quarterback at USC was not as easy as Darnold initially thought. Arriving at USC, the young star said:

“I’m coming off a high school state championship, all the awards, and I’m gonna come here and I’m gonna win the job, and it’s going to be great.”

Even though he was the No. 1-rated quarterback out of his high school class, it wasn’t enough to earn him the job.

Now, Browne, not Darnold is set to take the field in the season opener against Alabama.

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University of Southern California