One of the business cards for USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley in his career was his ability to develop quarterbacks. However, that became an inconsistency for Riley and his Trojans during the 2024 season.
After USC’s victory in the Las Vegas Bowl Texas A&MRiley was excited about the quarterback position at USC. In particular, he expressed his confidence Jayden Maiava as the team’s starting quarterback moves forward.
“I have a lot of confidence in him,” Lincoln Riley said said. “I have a lot of confidence in it. I think I just have to go through what he’s been through, see how quickly he’s improved, and I think the most important thing for me is your performance as a player, but also who you are as a person, as a leader. When you play in that position, it’s just part of it. The man is so selfless, so committed to the team. I think he’s just going to get better and better, and we obviously have some good players around him, on both sides of the ball, who like to come back and take charge.”
At the start of the 2024 season, Lincoln turned to Riley Miller Mos at quarterback. However, in the midst of a rough season for USC, Moss was benched after the loss Washington. Since then he has entered the Transfer Portal and landed on Louisville.
Miller Moss would be replaced by Jayden Maiava, who came to USC prior to the 2024 season as a transfer from UNLV himself. He would play in four games as the team’s starter and the Trojans went 3-1 in those games with their only loss coming to rivals. Notre Dame to end the regular season. The Irish are now in the College Football Playoff and the Trojans scored 35 in the game, although two interceptions returned for touchdowns were costly.
For the season, Jayden Maiava has completed 59.8 percent of his passes on 169 attempts for 1,201 yards and 11 touchdowns to six interceptions. He also rushed for 45 yards and four touchdowns. All of his starts came against Power Four opponents, including the bowl win over Texas A&M.
Lincoln Riley has added another freshman quarterback Husan Langstraatwho is a five-star recruit in the Class of 2025. So far, USC has not added a transfer quarterback – something Riley has done in recent seasons at USC. However, there is time to change that this offseason.