"Will grow and take some massive leaps": Lincoln Riley assesses QB Jayden Maiava's first year at USC

USC Trojans coach Lincoln Riley thought quarterback Jayden Maiava did a stellar job during his first year at USC. Maiava, who transferred from UNLV in January 2024, took over as the starting quarterback after Riley benched Miller Moss.

Maiava led USC to a Bowl game win and Riley was pleased with his quarterback's play.

"I was real excited with how he played. I think he came in and played four games for us at the end of the year," Riley said to On3. [10:30]. "Played four really good defensive teams, and as able to beat Nebraska here. Able to go on the road and beat UCLA, had a great game against Notre Dame that came down to the wire and I would argue he played as good of a game against that Notre Dame defense as anyone.

"He started off slow for us in the bowl game and closed on an unreal hitter. I'm excited, he's a really talented guy, he's a very humble player and his best football is ahead of him and he will grow and take some massive leaps," Riley added.

Maiava went 101-for-169 for 1,201 yards, 11 touchdowns and six interceptions with USC last season.

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USC adds top freshman quarterback to compete with Jayden Maiava

Although Lincoln Riley was impressed with Jayden Maiava down the stretch, he may not be the team's starter in 2025. USC flipped quarterback Husan Longstreet, who is ranked No. 4 in his position and No. 21 overall (per On3), from Texas A&M. Riley said during the recruiting class that it was clear Longstreet was their guy.

"For us it didn’t really become much about anyone else, it’s more that we wanted Husan to be our quarterback and as time went on that became more and more clear to us and so we made the moves that we had to make to be able make that happen and ultimately you got to look out for the program and the best interest of it and obviously having the right quarterback here is a big priority and we absolutely feel like we got that," Riley said, via SI.

Longstreet will now compete with Jayden Maiava for the starting quarterback job in 2025. USC opens its season on Aug. 30 against Missouri State.