LOS ANGELES — Two days after leading USC to an upset win over a national power in LSU, TMZ reported on Tuesday afternoon that USC quarterback Miller Moss had been investigated by the university in 2022 over a dispute with a roommate.
A video obtained by TMZ appears to show Moss, which TMZ reported was taken in the spring of 2022, taking a T-shirt off a bed and telling someone “I’m stealing this shirt, dude,” and “I’m taking it,” also showing him rummaging through a closet and passing gas on a pillow he removed from the bed.
In a statement obtained by the Southern California News Group, Moss confirmed that USC had conducted an investigation 2½ years ago related to a “personal dispute between me and a roommate.”
“I fully cooperated and took accountability for my decisions, and the matter was resolved,” Moss said. “I regret my actions and have grown and learned from this matter, and my focus is on the season ahead.”
USC confirmed in a statement to the Southern California News Group that the situation was referred to law enforcement and was “carefully investigated by the university.”
“We take all student conduct complaints seriously and are legally obligated to keep those matters private and confidential,” USC said in a statement obtained by the SCNG. “Each and every case follows a prescribed and thorough adjudication process as described in the USC Student Handbook. If a student has been found responsible and has fulfilled all of the terms of their discipline, the matter is considered closed.
“In this case, the matter was resolved and settled two-and-a-half years ago.”
Moss, a Bishop Alemany High product who is stepping into USC’s starting quarterback spot after two years backing up Caleb Williams and three years within USC’s football program, completed 27 of 36 passes for 378 yards and a touchdown against LSU on Sunday night in Las Vegas. On Monday, he was named the season’s first Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week.
For months, since assuming starting duties after Williams opted out of the Holiday Bowl, Moss has earned wide public praise from teammates and coaches for his leadership of the program. When asked for comment on the situation after Tuesday’s practice, and whether the program had taken any action, head coach Lincoln Riley took up a staunch defense for his quarterback.
“It’s something that’s been settled a long, long time ago,” Riley said. “Very, we’ll call it interesting, the timing, and that’s a high-quality individual there. That’s one guy you gotta be careful about going after because the character of him, everything he does is high as anybody I’ve ever had. That’s all I’m going to say.”
When asked if it surprised him that the story came out now, Riley shrugged and smirked.
“I don’t, I don’t know,” he finished.
