2018 USC Football Roster
Roster
JT Daniels
- Position:
- Quarterback
- Height:
- 6-3
- Weight:
- 210
- Class:
- Freshman
- Hometown:
- Irvine, CA
- High School:
- Mater Dei
@jtdaniels 
@jtdaniels06 • In The News • What They're Saying
CAREER: He has completed 241-of-397 passes (60.7%) for 2,887 yards and 15 TDs with 11 interceptions while starting all 12 games in which he has appeared in his career. His 241 completions is tied for 17th on USC’s career passing chart.
2020: Daniels, USC’s starting quarterback in 2018, will work to fully recover from a 2019 knee injury and win back his job as a sophomore in 2020. He likely will be limited to non-contact drills in 2020 spring practice.
2019: Daniels returned as a sophomore in 2019 as USC’s starting quarterback, but he suffered a season-ending knee injury late in the first half in the Fresno State opener. He was 25-of-34 (73.5%) for 215 yards with a TD and interception against Fresno State (he was a blazing 15-of-17 for 114 yards and the TD in the first quarter) before the injury. He was able to redshirt.
2018: Daniels, who came to USC in the fall of 2018 after graduating a full year early from high school, earned the starting quarterback job as a first-year freshman in 2018. Overall in 2018 while appearing in and starting 11 games (all but Arizona State, which he missed after suffering a concussion at Utah), he hit 216-of-363 passes (59.5%) for 2,672 yards with 14 TDs and 10 interceptions.
He became just the second Trojan true freshman to start a season opener, joining Matt Barkley, who did so in 2009 against San Jose State--and just the fourth to start any game, joining Barkley (12 starts in 2009), Carson Palmer (5 starts in 1998) and Rob Johnson (1 start in 1991)--when he did so against UNLV, completing 21-of-35 passes (60.0%) for 282 yards and a 43-yard TD with no interceptions (he was 9-of-12 for 167 yards with the TD in the second half) to post the top passing yardage performance ever by a Trojan in his playing debut. He was 16-of-34 for 215 yards with 2 interceptions (he also lost a fumble and was sacked 4 times) at Stanford (he suffered a bruised right throwing hand on USC’s first possession and had to miss a series). He was 30-of-48 for 322 yards at Texas (he became the first USC true freshman to throw for 300-plus yards since Matt Barkley threw for 350 in the 2009 Emerald Bowl against Boston College), but threw an interception. He threw 3 touchdowns (50, 30 and 9 yards) while hitting 17-of-26 passes for 241 yards with no interceptions against Washington State, including a pair of TDs and a 2-point conversion toss in the second half to rally USC back from a 13-point deficit. He hit 16-of-24 passes for 197 yards at Arizona. He was 18-of-35 for 283 yards while throwing 3 touchdowns (27, 65 and 9 yards) against Colorado, but he also had 2 interceptions. He was 6-of-16 for 89 yards with a 34-yard TD and 2 interceptions at Utah before suffering a concussion at the end of the third quarter. After a week’s break due to a concussion, he was 14-of-26 for 177 yards and a 41-yard TD at Oregon State. He completed 21-of-34 passes for 180 yards with 2 TDs and an interception against California, including going 15-of-20 for 147 yards with both touchdowns in the first half. He hit 20-of-34 passes for a season-high 337 yards with 2 TDs (44 and 45 yards) but threw 2 interceptions at UCLA. He completed a USC-record 37 passes (on 51 attempts) for a career-best 349 yards against Notre Dame; he hit his first 4 passes of the game and 6 of his first 7, was 16-of-17 in the first quarter, connected on 18 of his first 19 throws (including 14 completions in a row) and finished the first half 26-of-31 for 244 yards.
HIGH SCHOOL: He is the second Trojan football player to graduate a full year early from high school in order to enroll at USC, joining John David Booty, who did so in 2003. He was 2017 Gatorade National Player of the Year, Max Preps National Player of the Year, National High School Coaches Association Player of the Year, USA Today All-USA first team, PrepStar Dream Team, Orange County Register Fab 15 first team, Tacoma News Tribune Western 100, Gatorade California Player of the Year, USA Today All-California Player of the Year, Cal-Hi Sports State Player of the Year, Cal-Hi Sports All-State first team, Max Preps Junior All-American first team, All-CIF Division 1 Offensive Player of the Year, Los Angeles Times All-Area Player of the Year and Orange County Register All-Orange County Offensive Player of the Year as a junior quarterback at Mater Dei High in Santa Ana (Calif.). In 2017, he completed 262-of-365 passes (71.8%) for 4,123 yards with 52 TDs and only 4 interceptions and he ran for 561 yards on 63 carries (8.9 avg) with 9 TDs. Mater Dei went 15-0 in 2017, won the California CIF Division 1 title and the California State Open Division crown and was named the prep national champions.
As a 2016 sophomore, he was Max Preps All-American second team, Max Preps Sophomore All-American Player of the Year, Gatorade California Player of the Year, Cal-Hi Sports State Sophomore of the Year, Cal-Hi Sports All-State first team, All-CIF Division 1, Los Angeles Times All-Area Back of the Year, Orange County Register All-Orange County Offensive Player of the Year and All-Trinity League MVP. In 2016, he completed 315-of-423 passes (74.5%) for an Orange County record 4,849 yards with an Orange County record 67 TDs and just 6 interceptions, plus he ran for 37 yards on 25 carries (1.5 avg) with 2 TDs as Mater Dei went 13-1 and was the CIF Division 1 runnerup.
As a 2015 freshman, he made Max Preps Freshman All-American first team and All-Trinity League first team while completing 174-of-313 passes (55.6%) for 3,042 yards with 33 TDs and just 4 interceptions (he also rushed for 2 scores). In his 3-year career, he was 751-of-1,101 (68.2%) for 12,014 yards with 152 TDs and 14 interceptions. Current Trojans Frank Martin II, Chase McGrath, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Solomon Tuliaupupu, John Jackson III, Bru McCoy and Clyde Moore also prepped at Mater Dei.
PERSONAL: He is a psychology major at USC with a 3.49 GPA. He made the 2019 Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll. His initials stand for Jonathan Tyler.
