Never mind that USC lost both Jaxson Dart and Kedon Slovis to the transfer portal this offseason, the Trojans still have one of the best quarterback outlooks in the country.

That’s according to ESPN, who ranked the Trojans No. 2 this week in their power ranking of the schools with the best quarterback futures in college football. Ohio State, led by CJ Stroud, came in at No. 1, but USC was just behind. ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg had this to say on the Southern Cal situation:

“USC is in the top 3 for the third straight year, but the landscape of the program—and the quarterback position —has transformed in the past three months. In (Lincoln) Riley, USC gets arguably the nation’s premier quarterback developer. Although USC never had trouble recruiting gifted quarterbacks, it will become a premier destination, both for high school prospects and transfers. The Trojans landed the biggest quarterback transfer prize of the winter in (Caleb) Williams, who reunited with Riley after passing for 1,912 yards and 21 touchdowns with four interceptions as a true freshman. USC should get two full seasons with Williams at quarterback in Riley’s system, surrounded by a talented group of pass-catching targets. Anything less than record numbers, national awards and a top-3 slot in the 2024 NFL draft would be considered a big disappointment for Williams.”

Williams is among the early betting favorites for the 2022 Heisman Trophy after briefly making a push for the award as a true freshman in 2021.

He was named to the 247Sports and ESPN True Freshman All-America teams after putting up 27 combined touchdowns in an abbreviated freshman campaign. Williams finished the season fourth nationally in total QBR (86.5). He committed to transfer to USC last month ahead of National Signing Day, reuniting with Riley and helping give the Trojans the No. 1 transfer class in the country.

But even beyond Williams, the Trojans appear to be in an excellent spot moving forward at quarterback. They still have former 4-star and top-100 2021 quarterback Miller Moss in the program and will add Los Alamitos product Malachi Nelson in the 2023 class, the nation’s No. 2 overall prospect.

Riley was able to flip Nelson from an Oklahoma commitment after moving to Los Angeles and figures to have no issues convincing top quarterbacks to play for him at USC.

Elsewhere in ESPN’s rankings, UCLA landed at No. 13, Utah at No. 14, and Oregon at No. 19.