Jack Sears has entered the transfer portal.
Many SC people believe he's more talented and a better leader than Daniels. But, politics and SC giving into the system has made Daniels be the guy.
Eh, many SC people are grasping at straws, hoping that any new face will salvage the wreckage that was last season's disaster. Witness the shameful desperation in pursuing KLiff Kingsbury, and the renewed hope that Graham Harrell will somehow transform a broken culture that stems from the head coach.
Sears had one okay game (which we still lost, BTW), and yes, he did look like a leader, far more so than the timid-looking JT Daniels, but all reports I've been reading about the practice sessions say that JT is tearing it up under GH's simplified system, and that Sears had fallen behind in that regard.
However, the initial depth chart had Sears at #4. That's basically the coaches saying "hey kid, it's not gonna work out for you here, so go transfer and good luck to ya." The depth chart was:
#1 JT Daniels (soph.)
#2 Kedon Slovis (true frosh)
#3 Matt Fink (redshirt junior - who also was going to enter the transfer portal)
#4 Jack Sears (redshirt junior)
The coaches are apparently high on Slovis, and keeping Daniels behind center made sense in that he did enough to keep the position, and no one else did enough to decisively beat him out. Plus, the addition of Bru McCoy, a former Mater Dei teammate who initially was going to go be a Longhorn, helps an already stacked WR corps.
Then, next year, the Mater Dei pipeline keeps pouring out its riches when QB Bryce Young is expected to sign with the Trojans.
Truthfully, I'd have been happier if Sears stayed, but I do think that production-wise, he would have been not any better than Daniels. He'd just look more engaged while berating his teammates on the sideline for not making a first down, instead of Daniels looking like the glum stunt double in a Van Nuys porn production.
Just by having a center who can consistently snap the ball will make Daniels a whole lot better. Last year's center, Toa Lobendahn, has thankfully graduated. His inability to snap the ball properly single-handedly lost the Cal game, and almost certainly contributed to at least two more losses.