How Jayden Maiava stayed ready to take the USC quarterback job

The competition was close. Closer than anyone expected, at least at the end of August. Close enough that Jayden Maiava, the rebel transfer from Nevada Las Vegas, believed at the time he had done enough to be named USC's starting quarterback.

The job ultimately went to Miller Moss, the redshirt junior whose six-point crowning achievement had come months earlier in the Holiday Bowl. In this case, Maiava understood the uphill battle he faced when he came to LA. But while the decision was no surprise to the public, it was no less disappointing to Maiava.

He was competitive. He thought he made the most of his reps. Now there was no way of knowing when they would come back.

“Most backups would be frustrated with the process at this point,” said Ryan Porter, Maiava’s quarterbacks coach. “They wouldn’t be as engaged or proactive. You lose focus.”

But nearly three months later, Porter looks back on that lost quarterback competition as if it was the best thing that could have happened to Maiava, who was named the Trojans' new starter this week.

“This kid has to go in, play spring football, play the first nine games and learn,” Porter said. “Learn from all the mistakes that have been made, learn from all the successes that have been, learn the good and the bad. He was able to sit back and learn a system from a great coaching staff and a great quarterback room, and in my opinion you couldn’t ask for a better situation.”

Maiava agrees: “It was phenomenal for me,” he said Wednesday, “I just learned a lot from the game.”

That's not to say it was easy to sit for most of the season, with USC losing four of its last five games.

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) has had limited playing time this season but will assume the role of the Trojans' starter against Nebraska.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

He broke out a year ago at UNLV, where he passed for 3,085 yards and 17 touchdowns and rushed for 277 yards and three more touchdowns. Before that, he had started all four years at three different high schools in Hawaii and Las Vegas.

Above all, a year at UNLV had taught him that he could only control so much, and that lesson would prove especially valuable as he waited his turn at USC.

As the newly named No. 2 quarterback, Maiava tried to let go of what he couldn't control and “fall in love with the process,” he said. He stayed away from social media. He never brought up Lincoln Riley's plans or complained about his place as a substitute, even as Moss struggled to find his rhythm last month. Maiava also never mentioned moving elsewhere where there would be a smoother path to playing time.

“You're either the cure or you're the cancer, you know?” Maiava said. “I’m just trying to be the cure for the team.”

It was an insightful approach for Porter, who coached Heisman winner and current Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels for many years. He had seen too many quarterbacks intent on speeding up the process.

“So I knew Jayden (Maiava) had a chance to be really special,” he said. “It has been my experience that the good ones don’t get involved in whether they agree with a coach’s decision or agree with the player’s or staff’s decision.”

When he and Porter talked, whether over FaceTime or Zoom or via text, Porter always tried to appear reassuring and maintain his confidence. “Your time is coming,” he told him.

But Porter never heard more than a fleeting moment of frustration from his student. It just wasn't in his nature to think about anything. Quiet and unassuming, Maiava didn't even like to discuss how many reps he managed in practice against Moss.

“I never heard anything negative in his voice,” Porter said. “Well, never, ever.”

“Most little kids come in and say, 'I should be that guy!' Man, that's the exact opposite of this kid. When you walk in, you basically watch someone kissing your girlfriend. But I told him, 'Bud, you're going to be able to rely on this experience.' You're going to be able to endure that adversity, and that's going to make you the quarterback that you're meant to be when you play on Sundays.”

The experience paid off in other ways too. Maiava was “super raw,” Porter admits, when he arrived at USC. Up to this point, he had relied almost exclusively on his instincts and his talent for improvisation in his football career. There was another level of the position he still had to learn. He also needed time to process Riley's attack.

But time gave him a chance to delve deeper into learning protections and other intricacies of the position. He tried to get as much as he could out of observation, paying particular attention to Moss – “a very brilliant quarterback” – and his “decision-making on the field.”

That progress hasn't been lost on Riley, who said he's seen a steady increase from Maiava since then.

“It's not easy being a substitute,” Riley said, “and I felt like he handled it well. “He's improved every week.”

Then this week, after Monday's film review, Riley Maiava pulled into his office to tell him he was making a change at quarterback. The coach later simply stated that he believed it was “in the best interest of the team to give Jayden a chance here.”

Moving away from Moss meant changing the fragile emotional balance in the dressing room. He was the team's loud leader, something that didn't necessarily come naturally to the more reserved Maiava.

But the players assured on Wednesday that little had changed. However, in the two days since his promotion, Maiava has tried to speak out more often and do everything he can to rise to the occasion.

“I think everyone has their own way of leading,” Maiava said. “Everyone has their own way of behaving.”

However, few have the physical skills that Maiava will bring to the position when he takes the field against Nebraska on November 16th.

Woody Marks, USC's leading running back, raved about Maiava's “cannon arm,” while tight end Lake McRee noted that Maiava “can throw the ball anywhere.” And while Riley insisted this week that USC's offense won't change much with him at the helm, it's hard to imagine those physical skills not being a key part of the Trojans' game plan next weekend.

“How do you argue with 6-5, 230?” Porter asked. “That’s a problem, man.”

And now, with the season quickly over, USC is hoping Maiava can be the solution it so desperately needs. However, he now knows that he can only control so much.

“I’m here for one reason and that’s to win games,” Maiava said. “The best thing I can do for this team is to put them in the best situation to win games. I will risk my life for her.

“Hopefully they do the same.”