JT Daniels is heading to USC a year early.

The five-star quarterback who’s currently the top-rated prospect in the 2019 class said he plans to graduate from Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei in the spring and then enroll at USC in the summer, possibly contending for the starting job with the Trojans if Sam Darnold leaves for the NFL.

The move to reclassify was something Daniels did not even consider months ago but after thinking about things through his junior season it was something that started to take shape.

“It actually started as a rumor,” Daniels said. “That’s where I first got the idea before the season. I was getting texts about it and I was just laughing it off because it wasn’t even in my thought process.

“A couple weeks later I started to look into it and it made sense. By the end of my junior year I would’ve played 40-plus varsity games at Mater Dei High School against top competition. I was just ready to go to college. Whether Sam leaves or not I think I’ll grow more as a player in college than high school for another year.

“It was a difficult decision. You know how much I love Mater Dei and how great of a school it is and how much I’d love to have a senior year there and how much I’m going to miss playing for the Monarchs. It’s always been a dream of mine. It’s not easy to miss my senior year but the upside was too positive for me to pass it up and it made too much sense.”

Daniels said he will leave Mater Dei for USC whether or not Darnold leaves for the NFL. A potential first-round pick, Darnold has not announced his decision on whether he will play for the Trojans next season.

For Daniels, Darnold’s decision won’t change his mind.

“I made my decision based on the assumption Sam was staying,” Daniels said.

“There’s no way of me knowing before making the decision that I was leaving. I assumed he was staying to see how I’d feel about that and if he is then I’m learning in my first year from a really great college quarterback. If he stays, I could pick up a lot from that guy and learn the ropes, the system and how to handle a college season.”