LOS ANGELES — There typically isn’t much to take from a 62-7 loss, but Jayden Maiava will always remember those 20 pass attempts from his freshman year at Sierra Vista High School in Las Vegas against national power Bishop Gorman. Maiava, in his first season as a quarterback, completed seven passes and led his team to its only touchdown of the game.
“One of the top defenses in the country at the time, arguably,” Maiava said. “I feel like I diced them up pretty well and I was pretty confident from then on.”
Before that season, Maiava admitted, “I didn’t think I had what it took to play the position.”
His introduction to football came as a linebacker and wide receiver. He switched to quarterback only after some nudging and encouragement from his father and uncle.
Ultimately, it led him to this Saturday and his starting debut at USC against Nebraska in what has become a must-win game as the Trojans try to salvage a season that is veering off the rails.
This seemed like a far-fetched possibility just a few years ago when Maiava was a three-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting cycle with only two FBS offers. Just 15 months ago, he was a backup at UNLV to start his redshirt freshman season.
On the opposing sidelines will be Dylan Raiola, Nebraska’s talented true freshman quarterback and former five-star prospect who has shown promise in his first collegiate season.
USC coach Lincoln Riley spent significant time recruiting Raiola on two separate occasions. At one point, it seemed as though Raiola would be USC’s starting quarterback someday.
Maiava and Raiola are prime examples of how tenuous quarterback plans can be and offer a good snapshot into the long and winding road the Trojans have traveled at quarterback under Riley — on the field and the recruiting trail — with Maiava being the latest stop on the path.
When USC hired Riley in November 2021, the program seemed well-positioned to become the preeminent destination for elite high school quarterbacks.
Given the Trojans’ history and Riley’s track record at Oklahoma — two Heisman Trophy winners, another finalist and two No. 1 overall draft picks — how could USC not attract the best of the best?
It didn’t take long for Riley to make good on that potential.
Two days after he was hired, USC landed a commitment from five-star Class of 2023 quarterback Malachi Nelson, who was previously committed to Riley at Oklahoma.
Two months later, USC solidified its 2022 quarterback situation when it added Caleb Williams, who transferred in after spending the 2021 season at OU with Riley.
And recruiting was going well. There was plenty of buzz in the quarterback world about USC and Raiola — the No. 1 player in the 2024 class at the time — but Raiola committed to Ohio State in May 2022.
The Trojans were still in a good spot though. They had Williams as the starter for 2022 and 2023. Some thought Nelson would start in 2024 and if not, there was still Miller Moss, a former four-star prospect in the 2021 cycle who was a holdover from Clay Helton’s tenure.
Riley rarely signs high-profile quarterbacks in back-to-back cycles, but even though Nelson was committed for the 2023 cycle, he pursued Raiola for the 2024 class. When Raiola committed to Ohio State, USC put the full-court press on five-star 2024 quarterback DJ Lagway.
Lagway visited for USC’s 38-27 win against Notre Dame in November 2022. That victory pushed the Trojans to 11-1 — after a 4-8 season in 2021 — and represented the high point of Riley’s USC tenure to date. It wasn’t enough to sway Lagway, who committed to Florida less than two weeks later.
Another miss.
But that same month, Raiola decommitted from Ohio State.
Once again, Riley made a concerted effort to land him. In March 2023, fresh off Raiola’s unofficial visit to USC, 247Sports logged a crystal ball prediction that Raiola would commit to the Trojans.
Months went by without a pledge to USC, though, and Raiola eventually committed to Georgia before flipping to Nebraska in December.
On Tuesday, Riley was asked if he thought Raiola was ever going to commit to USC.
“There were different points,” Riley said. “It just kind of felt like we never quite lined up. Just one of those — he’s a good player, we had a good situation, but these things have got to fit at the right time. It was just never completely the perfect thing for either side. I think we both recognized that and that’s OK. So nah, wish him the best.”
USC had an all-world talent with Williams at quarterback in 2023, but the (correct) assumption was he’d leave for the NFL after that. He did and became the No. 1 overall pick last April — Riley’s third quarterback to do so.
With Williams’ departure imminent, Nelson’s development became a prominent storyline. After all, the former five-star was viewed by some as Williams’ heir apparent. But he never beat out Moss for the backup job and his progress was hampered by an injury to his non-throwing shoulder.
The Trojans disappointed on the field after opening the season as a top-10 team. The final destination? A low-stakes Holiday Bowl matchup with Louisville. Williams sat out in preparation for the draft.
There were several notable quarterback developments in the weeks leading up to the game. USC openly flirted with Kansas State transfer Will Howard, who visited campus. Shortly after, Nelson entered the transfer portal and ended up signing with Boise State.
During his early signing period press conference, Riley said that USC was looking to add two transfer quarterbacks, one with experience and a younger player it could develop.
And the Trojans rolled with Moss as the starter for the Holiday Bowl. He excelled, throwing six touchdown passes and earning offensive MVP honors in the Trojans’ 42-28 win over a Top 25 Louisville team. Any talk of adding a transfer was shelved.
“Shoot,” Riley said after the win, “he might have scared off anybody that would want to come here anyway.”
Howard eventually transferred to Ohio State. USC still pursued a transfer and eventually signed Maiava, who came off the bench early last season and led UNLV to a Mountain West title game appearance. Maiava was briefly committed to Georgia, but he ultimately picked the Trojans even though Moss was the heavy favorite for the starting role.
Moss played well in the first month of the season and led the Trojans to a dramatic victory against LSU to open the year.
But the reality is USC’s offensive situation isn’t great. The line has played better in recent weeks but overall is subpar. The receivers are talented but have been underwhelming and inconsistent. And some of Riley’s game plans have been questioned.
Moss regressed as the season went on and the offense faltered in some critical moments. As a result, the Trojans are in danger of missing a bowl game. Moss isn’t a bad quarterback, but USC had to try something different.
And that something different is Maiava, a more athletic option who may unlock some different elements of the offense, most notably the QB run game and the vertical passing attack.
Nobody would’ve bet on him to be USC’s starting quarterback. Several others looked to be in line before him. But now he has the opportunity to assert himself as the favorite to start in 2025 and beyond.
We’ll see how he handles it.
(Top photo: Jordon Kelly / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
