Lincoln Riley explains the decision to name Jayden Maiava as USC's starting QB

After USC's 21-26 loss Saturday at Washington, the latest setback in a completely lost season, coach Lincoln Riley was asked if he felt any “temptation” to give backup quarterback Jayden Maiava some work the rest of the way.

His answer then seemed pretty clear – just like every other time he was asked about Miller Moss holding the starting job.

“I wouldn’t say that at the moment, no. Right now we're looking at the best lineup, the best people to help us win every week and we're going to keep our focus there,” Riley said

Between Saturday and Monday, Riley decided that the best quarterback who could help his team win was Maiava, the redshirt sophomore who transferred from UNLV in the offseason but has played sparingly so far. Maiava will start for the Trojans when they host Nebraska next week following their bye this weekend.

And so, of course, the first question Riley asked when he met with the media after practice on Tuesday was what had changed from his comments on Saturday.

“I didn't say that. I said I would make decisions based on what is best for the team to win and nothing has changed. We go back and evaluate like we do every single game. We have two good players in the.” “And when we went back and looked at it, we felt like it was in the best interest of the team to give Jayden a chance here,” Riley said.

“… And I want to say: Listen, Miller Moss has done a really good job for us. You literally couldn't change anything that Miller did and we could be sitting here with a really, really good record.” Right now, Miller has done a really good job. He's stayed loyal to this program and done a lot of really good things on the football field reflects nothing more than that we have another good player in the room and we feel like he gives us a good chance and when we went back and We felt that this was the best thing for the team. It really is that simple.

RELATED: COLUMN: What the QB move to Jayden Maiava means for USC and everyone involved moving forward

The move comes after Moss completed 30 of 50 passes for 293 yards, 2 touchdowns and a season-high 3 interceptions in USC's 26-21 loss at Washington. One of those picks slipped from wide receiver Kyle Ford's fingertips but could have been thrown better, one was a no-risk lob at the end of the first half, and the third was a bad read right to Washington linebacker Carson Bruener, while Moss had another potential one INT dropped by a Huskies defensive lineman.

Overall, Moss, a redshirt junior, passed for 2,555 yards, 18 touchdowns and 9 interceptions (plus 2 rushing touchdowns) in his first year as USC's starting quarterback.

Meanwhile, Maiava was limited to the pick-up work he got against Utah State, Wisconsin and Rutgers, as he completed 8 of 11 passes for 66 yards and ran three times for 27 yards and a touchdown this season.

Both quarterbacks were active at practice on Tuesday.

Maiava transferred to USC last offseason after passing for 3,085 yards, 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions and rushing for 277 yards and three touchdowns as a redshirt freshman at UNLV.

Since he completed his redshirt season there in 2022, he is not eligible to protect with Maiava this season. With three games left, USC now gets a longer look and a chance to assess whether the 6-foot-1, 220-pound dual-threat quarterback is the man for the future of this USC offense.

“He has improved throughout the year. He has improved in camp. And he continued to improve,” Riley said. “It's not easy being the replacement and I felt he handled it well. He has improved every week. I think he learned a lot because he has a guy like Miller in the room who is just as smart and understands our offense just as well as Miller.” . So he put together some really good exercises. He is a talented boy.

“It’s hard there. It's like having two kids, especially at this position, and only one of them is going to be out there. But we are of course happy that Jayden has this chance.”

Riley was asked what his message was to Moss, and he made it clear how difficult it was for him to make this particular decision, while also referencing the move he made to Oklahoma midway through the 2021 season for the Heisman contender Benching Spencer Rattler in preseason for then-true freshman Caleb Williams.

“It was hard. It was hard. I was there for a few of them. It's never easy. There's nothing simple about it. Especially when you have someone who has worked hard and done a lot of really good things,” Riley said of his conversation with Moss when he told him the news. “Honestly, I've been through times when it was easier and the guy isn't playing well at all and the team is exhausted, and that's painfully obvious, isn't it? Like anyone could do it, where it is.” A tough decision, it's tough.

“I was part of a group a few years ago where we were undefeated at the time. So you never know 100%. Nobody has a crystal ball. But we just come here, like a play call, like decisions we make. “We make the best decision possible that we believe is in the best interest of this program, and it's my job to get the emotion out of it. You have a loyalty to all of these people, but you have a greater loyalty to the team and the program, and that must always remain that way.

Riley also seemed to recognize the likelihood that Moss, who has another year of eligibility left, will now finish his college career elsewhere.

“He just has to be ready for the next opportunity, we never know how that will turn out,” Riley said. “I’ve been in games like that where something like that happens and a guy goes to another school and ends up playing in the NFL. I've been through games like that where a guy sat down, didn't play for a while and…” Then I went back in and played even better, took off and ran from there. The hard thing is you don't know exactly what's going to happen, but knowing Miller, he's going to stay in a really positive mindset.

“He will come and go to work for this team and he will be ready for his next opportunity, wherever it is, and we will continue to push him and train him to help him.”

While it makes sense that the Trojans would want to take a look at Maiava in meaningful game action to assess whether he could be the quarterback they can rely on in 2025, Riley declined that the future has anything to do with this decision had to do – and explained that it was all about the present and the best chance of winning against Nebraska next week.

“This is about this point forward and preparing for this week and preparing for the Nebraska game. So I'm pleased with the progress he's made. I think he's really improved. “Their skill sets aren’t all that different, and so I don’t expect us to change much on offense,” Riley said. “It's not like we're suddenly going to come out and start a new offense. “I'm excited for him to get the chance to run our system and work here for a few weeks and then be ready to go. …

“It's about this week because there's so much to unfold and I just feel like I owe it to Jonah Monheim and all the other guys here that are going to be playing their last few games as Trojans, guys that were A big part of this rise here and what we've done and just the team as a whole. I mean, with this team there are limited moments and that's why I've never tried to make decisions – I do. I'm not saying you don't think about the future, because of course we do – but I think I'm wrong wrong if I only look at the future. That's a decision in two weeks.

USC players will be made available after practice on Wednesday and asked for their reaction to the big change.

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