USC football: 5 questions the USC Trojans must answer in 2020

USC football questions: 2. Is Slovis the next big-time star?

Whenever Kedon Slovis was on the field for the Trojans last year, everything started to click into place. Yes, he got banged up and had some pitfalls early. But once the then-freshman quarterback was able to get into Harrell’s Air Raid system and unleash bombs on opposing defenses, we saw exactly what he was capable of in that type of situation.

Though he didn’t play the full season, Slovis finished his true freshman year completing 71.9 percent of his passes and throwing for 3,502 yards with 30 touchdowns and only nine interceptions. That’s quite impressive given the circumstances and the fact that he needed to be the spark for the Trojans if they were going to compete last season.

Now with almost an entire year of experience under his belt and the hope that he can stay on the field all year, Slovis is a Heisman Trophy dark horse candidate and has a big fan in Urban Meyer. In this offense, he’s going to put up big numbers, especially with the high-profile weapons he has to work with in Amon-Ra St. Brown and Tyler Vaughns, among others, who will only help the young signal-caller out.

The question is what the next step will be for Slovis. He’s proven he can be productive in this offense and put his team in position to win if he can get help. But as the Trojans look to get back to the highest of highs, it may mean Slovis becoming one of college football’s best quarterbacks is the natural progression for him entering his sophomore campaign.