USC Football: Is Kedon Slovis the Pac-12’s best QB heading into 2020?

Kedon Slovis returns to USC football in 2020 and looks like one of the best quarterbacks in the Pac-12 and the country. Is he the conference’s best?

When the 2019 season began, there was hype surrounding JT Daniels. He was coming off a 2,600-yard, 14-touchdown freshman season and he looked like one of the best young passers in the nation.

And then he suffered a torn ACL against Fresno State in the season opener.

Panic ensued shortly after his injury because, well, the Trojans didn’t have a backup that drew nearly as much hype or excitement, but in marched former three-star Kedon Slovis, a freshman.

The 6-2, 200-pound Scottsdale, Ariz., native had a monster season, passing for 3,502 yards and 30 touchdowns with nine interceptions. Oh yeah, and he completed 72 percent of his passes and helped turn around a potential disaster of a season without a true starting quarterback into a Holiday Bowl berth, basically saving Clay Helton’s job.

Slovis started the season strong, but finished even stronger, going 3-1 over his final four starts and passing for 400-plus yards in each of the last three regular season games. In those final four games (which includes the Holiday Bowl), he had 14 touchdowns and one interception.

So is he the best quarterback in the Pac-12 heading into 2020?

The easy answer: yes. The longer answer: there isn’t much returning in the Pac-12 at the quarterback position. Slovis is the best quarterback in the Pac-12 for 2020, but he’s only being challenged by Arizona State’s Jayden Daniels, UCLA’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Cal’s Chase Garbers.

Slovis has a higher ceiling than most of that group but the conference’s top quarterback will come down to a battle between him and Daniels.

Rocket arm, high IQ, knack for making big plays and accuracy to boot? Slovis has everything you want in an elite quarterback and the scary thing is that he’s just getting started.