Former USC quarterback Max Browne says he got ‘short end of the stick’

Former USC quarterback Max Browne took a bit of a parting shot at his former team.

Upon arriving at USC in 2013 as a highly-touted recruit, quarterback Max Browne played for four head coaches (Lane Kiffin, Ed Orgeron, Steve Sarkisian and Clay Helton) in four years. The program was in near-constant turmoil over that time, for one reason or another, and Browne only attempted 19 passes as a backup to Cody Kessler over his first two seasons after redshirting in 2013.

Browne then opened the 2016 season as the Trojans’ starting quarterback. But with just two touchdowns and two interceptions over the first three games, and a 1-2 record, Helton made the switch to freshman Sam Darnold.

Now at Pitt under Pat Narduzzi, his fifth head coach, Browne had an opportunity to reflect on his college career with Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports. His words were somewhat forward-looking, about leading Pitt to a conference title and putting himself in a position to be an NFL draft pick. But Browne’s story obviously has to include USC, and he did look back at his time there.

"“I think I was kinda the guy that got the short end of the stick from a program that was in a tough situation,” Browne said. “Obviously, Sam (Darnold) is the big name right now but if you look at our team after three weeks, it wasn’t a one player thing or one person issue. They felt they had to make a change and I got the short end of the stick. But it is what it is. I roll with that. I get it. I was pumped to see my guys do well. It was a tough one but that chapter is still open and still being written.”"

It’s hard to argue with the results of Darnold taking over as the starter last season. After a 31-27 loss to Utah in his first start, the Trojans ran off a nine-game winning streak which was capped by a win over Penn State in the Rose Bowl. And the freshman signal caller was hardly a caretaker, averaging 295 passing yards per game with 29 touchdown passes over his 10 starts.

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Browne is right to be disappointed about how things turned out at USC. But to think he got the short end of the stick in any way, playing behind one quarterback that is in the NFL and losing a starting job to another who is in line to be a top draft pick, is a stark over-estimation of his own ability. Pitt is a solid landing spot though, with Tom Savage and Nathan Peterman as successful recent transfers that boosted their NFL stock.