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USC quarterback Jayden Maiava warms up during a game against Nebraska at the Coliseum. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
When he was first announced as USC’s starting quarterback last November, Jayden Maiava stepped into a pretty thorny situation. The team already had rallied behind Miller Moss, who spent the previous three seasons earning teammates' trust. Plus, he’d have only a few games to prove himself, and USC desperately needed immediate results.
“That’s a hard thing for anyone to do,” said wideout Ja’Kobi Lane, a close friend of Moss.
Those four starts, as uneven as they sometimes were, proved enough for Maiava to retain the title as the Trojans’ presumptive quarterback this spring, even as USC added five-star freshman Husan Longstreet and experienced transfer Sam Huard to the fold. But what’s happened in the three months since ultimately may say more about where Maiava is headed as a quarterback — and whether he’ll keep the job for good this season.
Maiava's second act started in January with speculation that he was entertaining the idea of entering the transfer portal. But he brushed off that notion Tuesday.
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“Shoot, the transfer portal is crazy nowadays,” Maiava said. “I usually just don’t pay any mind or attention to it. I just kind of go about my business and stay out the way.”
For Maiava, that meant spending as much time in the film room as possible. “Countless hours,” the quarterback said.
It was on film that he could see how often he got “happy feet” in the pocket during his first season at USC. He worked to pinpoint the reasons for head-scratching mistakes that seemed to follow him every week. Namely the back-breaking interceptions, three of which he threw in the bowl game. He was, as Lincoln Riley said Monday, “his own toughest critic.”
Though the coach was quick to point out that self-criticism was useful only to a point with Maiava.
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USC coach Lincoln Riley talks with Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava during a game against Nebraska at the Coliseum on Nov. 16. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
“He’s a guy who sometimes he can almost overdo it,” Riley said. “He naturally has that ability to really be critical of himself, to really put everything he can into the areas he doesn’t. You’re never going to see him like, ‘Oh, I’m so good at this, I’m going to take it for granted and not put work into it.’ Like he’s the complete opposite of that. Which is great. He’s a driven worker and he wants to play a lot better for us than he did last year. And he played pretty darn good. So that’s a pretty good sign.”
Maiava still will have to compete through preseason camp, Riley clarified, if only because “there always has to be a competition.”
“Now does Jayden come in a step ahead in experience and all that of the other guys in the room? Of course he does,” Riley said Monday during the "Trojans Live" radio show. “But the best guy is going to play, and that’s, to me, No. 1 and that should always be the case.”
Longstreet may be the most likely to push Maiava, given his pedigree coming out of Corona Centennial High. He also spent as much time as he could at USC’s bowl practices, soaking it all in.
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That extra work and time has paid off.
"He's way further ahead than most guys would be at this age,” Riley said. “His ability to communicate and manage the group right now as a young guy is pretty impressive.”
Where that may come naturally to Longstreet, it’s been an adjustment for Maiava since stepping into the starting role. But teammates and coaches have noticed a major difference since last season.
“You certainly see him just more confident, more assertive as a leader and a player now,” Riley said. “That’s what we need him to be.”
Whether that’s enough to keep the job as USC’s quarterback, only time will tell.
Five-star freshman’s first impression
As Jahkeem Stewart made his way up the tunnel Tuesday for his first spring practice at USC, it was hard not to marvel at the hulking, 17-year old defensive end.
At 6 feet 6 and 290 pounds, Stewart should “no doubt” have an opportunity to contribute this season, Riley said. The question is how quickly he’ll be able to pick up USC’s defense.
“He’s in the facility darn near all day now,” Riley said. “He’s got the talent to [make an impact], and now it’s just going to be putting in the work and building him up to be a consistent enough player to trust to put him out there on Saturday.”
Etc.
Defensive end Anthony Lucas is expected to miss most of spring as he continues to recover from a lower leg injury that cost him the second half of last season.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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