Jayden Maiava could be preparing for his second season as the entrenched starter at UNLV right now, looking to build off a breakout redshirt freshman campaign in which he passed for 2,794 yards, 14 TDs and 8 INTs while rushing for 261 yard and 3 TDs.

He’d be one of the more intriguing QBs in the Mountain West Conference and the unquestioned star of the Rebels.

Instead, Maiava is continuing to grind on mastering a new playbook, working to mesh with a new offensive line, set of receivers and coaching staff and set to open the season as USC’s backup QB to Miller Moss, who was officially named the starter Monday but was the overwhelming favorite for the job since his 6-touchdown Holiday Bowl showcase.

Maiava has no regrets.

"It was a lot of discussion, it was a lot of talk between me and my family, a lot of talk with myself and God -- I prayed about it a lot just to show me the right path. And I believe I made the right decision. I don't regret leaving, so I'm happy that I'm here," he said prior to the start of camp.

Maiava wasn’t made available for interviews this week after the QB depth chart was set, but there also wasn’t any suspense or mystery as to how it would shake it.

In an era where many college quarterbacks flee to the transfer portal when they don’t get the spotlight role they covet, Maiava did the opposite — leaving a sure thing for what was very likely going to be a tough path to immediate playing time.

He’s talked before about the value he sees in being developed by Trojans coach and noted QB guru Lincoln Riley — probably the biggest reason why he ended up at USC after initially committing to Georgia from the transfer portal after last season — and he reiterated those sentiments at the start of camp.

"Coach Riley, he's such an awesome dude. He's super knowledgeable, super smart, so he tries not to make things so hard out there so we can just go out there and play football and execute his plays, his play-calling. He puts you in the best situation as possible just to have answers,” Maiava said.

The appreciation is definitely mutual.

Riley was asked Tuesday after practice how comfortable he’d be turning the offense over to Maiava should Moss be unavailable at any point,

Riley didn’t hesitate.

“Extremely. Yeah, extremely comfortable. I’d play anybody with him, the way he’s practiced and competed," Riley said. "He’s a talented kid. He’s got a bright future here. No doubt about that. It was a great battle. Typically, the rooms I’ve been in, when you have a great battle, it makes both guys better. You can certainly say that about this competition."

Riley further said that Maiava “improved drastically” from the spring when he was just picking up the offense.

“It was a major, major jump for him. Really proud of how he handled the competition. He was neck and neck with [Moss] the entire time, which was a big move from the spring,” Riley said. “You could tell his familiarity with the offense helped.”

Even USC’s defensive players have noticed.

After practice Wednesday, safety Kamari Ramsey was asked who he thought had shown the most growth this month. It was an open-ended question — he could have mentioned one of the young defensive backs he works with every day or any player on the defensive side.

Instead, he spotlighted Maiava.

“Who's grown the most? I'd probably say Jayden, from spring, just him getting more comfortable and settled down in the offense. He's making a lot more checks, I could see he's like a lot more composed. So that's been somebody that I've seen has grown a lot,” Ramsey said.

Maiava is a quiet guy by nature, at least in every interview setting since he arrived at USC. But he seems to have settled in smoothly into a new locker room and team culture.

But moving around is nothing new for Maiava, who is from Palolo, Hawaii. He spent his freshman high school season at Sierra Vista HS in Las Vegas, then returned to Hawaii for the next two years (including a breakout junior season at Kaimuki HS in which he passed for 3,317 yards and 41 TDs) before transferring to Liberty HS in Las Vegas for his senior year.

“Growing up, I've been around different places. I've been kind of the new guy on the block a lot of times, so it's nothing new for me. It's just all about the opportunity that sits in front of me and what I do with it,” he said. “It's all about staying the course, stacking days and just building."

And knowing that he transferred to USC with big-picture goals that are undeterred by opening this season as the backup.

Maiava, like any backup quarterback, knows his moment could come at any time and that’s what he’s preparing for — whether it’s at some point this season in a major role, late game relief work or more down the road.

“I've been working a lot this summer, just stacking days and trying to master the offense as much as I can. I've come a long way from [the spring] for sure, but I'm always looking to learn more about the playbook,” he said. “I think I've got a good feel of what it is now. It's just about tying everything together and getting the relationship with the receivers and O-line."

USC QBs coach Luke Huard shared his own praise for the growth he’s seen from Maiava.

“Just the communication piece. Obviosuly, playing the quarterback position you become an extension of the staff and certainly the communication with him and Coach Riley prior to the snap is big. Just his communicaiton, his confidence pre-snap, knowing what the progression is, knowing based on the certain look where his eyes should start. Just overall him being comfortable and being able to get up there and communicate efficiently,” Huard said.

“And you knew that was going to happen, obviously coming in last spring learning a whole new language. But he's certainly so much more comfortable pre-snap communication, getting up there. Now he can just react and go play ball rather than thinking through 30 different scenarios."

Maiava could instead be preparing for his first start of the season in UNLV’s opener next weekend vs. Houston — one of the higher-visibility games on the Rebels’ schedule and what would have been a big showcase opportunity for the QB.

Instead, he’ll be preparing for LSU as if he was the starter even know it’s likely he doesn’t get off the sideline next weekend when the Trojans open their season in Las Vegas.

Again, Maiava seems fully at peace with his transfer decision.

While he certainly wanted to push Moss for the starting job this month — and Riley said he did as much — Maiava said they were ultimately working toward the same objective.

“Me and Mill got the same goal and it's just to win games,” he said. “If he's winning games, good. If I go in there I'm going to do the best I can to win games as well."