The QB battles are going all around the college football world. Notre Dame had their own dilemma with three QBs at the helm. Ohio State is now flaunting its 3 QBs after Will Howard departed, and even Michigan now has three good QBs, including the generational prodigy Bryce Underwood. On one side are these QB-plenty teams flaunting their ‘dilemmas’ literally every day, on the other hand are the USC Trojans, who do not have an ounce of idea of their QB room to begin with. On top of that? Lincoln Riley’s worst fears might have come haunting him again.
Those who watched Lincoln Riley when he was at Oklahoma would be having a meltdown throughout the 2024 season. The coach didn’t look like his old self; he wasn’t even trying to use the offensive strategies he had employed at Oklahoma, and the result was apparent. Chaos ensued, winnable games went down the drain, and whatever hope was left with Jayden Maiava, the QB, failed to provide any edge whatsoever in the remaining games. The consequence?
Well, the season ended with a 7-6 overall record, and the team lost more than 20 players to the transfer portal. Riley even failed to land a top 10 recruiting class, despite widespread reports that he was on a hot seat. So, naturally, there would be concerns regarding Riley’s preparedness this season.
Marc Kulkin, the host of ‘Locked on USC,’ echoed some similar concerns that the QB room will face this season. “Riley needs to get that quarterback situation settled down. We know Jayden Maiava is going to be QB1 at the beginning of the year. He’s earned it. He deserves it. He was the better of the two quarterbacks. Not saying who threw the most interceptions, but I guess if you had to pick one who had a better day, most would say give it to the incumbent.”
Jayden Maiava, coming from UNLV, initially served as a backup QB behind Miller Moss, who failed to turn up in many games as USC lost 5 games with him behind center. Then came Maiava after Riley benched Moss, and the QB helped win 2 games out of 4 he started. Was only able to garner 1,201 passing yards at just 59% efficiency. This is something which still concerns USC supporters, and questions are still looming as to how the QB will take a leap this season to end Lincoln Riley’s woes.
Tough verdict on Jayden Maiava amid replacement concerns
While right now, Maiava is a starter for Lincoln Riley, the addition of 5-star freshman QB Husan Longstreet does come with a challenge for his spot. Even then, the initial season would see the former UNLV QB being featured extensively, as Longstreet will take some time to fit in Riley’s offense. So, this essentially makes Maiava a transitional QB for this season.
This is something that was also said on the 21st April episode of ‘USC at the Voice of CFB’. The crew echoed similar concerns about Jayden Maiava. “Maiava certainly showed some flashes…I think that Maiava, though, is someone who needs confidence instilled in him for him to reach his full potential.. think that Lincoln Riley is someone who’s always kind of invited quarterback competition, and we’ve seen that throughout his tenure here at USC”.
Lastly, the host said a concerning take for Jayden Maiava in the context of competition with Husan Longstreet. “No one’s kind of above being replaced“. The verdict is simple: perform or get replaced. Maiava needs to take a giant leap this season and show that he is also someone who can grab headlines and emerge as one of the most important QBs in college football in the 2025 season.
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