Jayden Maiava had one of the more interesting transfer portal recruitments over the offseason, visiting both USC and Georgia, initially committing to the Bulldogs and then surprising everyone a day later by flipping to the Trojans.
Two and a half months later, speaking to reporters for the first time since his transfer from UNLV, Maiava didn't delve very deeply into how that all played out, but he did emphasize the reason why he's ultimately here at USC.
"Not really much," he said of what transpired in those 24 hours after it looked like he was ticketed to Georgia. "It's just, I wanted to play under Lincoln Riley. Just the things that he's done, the accomplishments he has underneath his belt, and being able to go out there and compete against the best."
The quarterback's father, William Maiava, had told the Orange County Register in January that it was his suggestion after those two recruiting visits that his son pick Georgia, which he went along with before telling his father the next day that he really believed playing for Riley was his best opportunity.
Riley, meanwhile, didn't want to speak on Maiava's behalf Tuesday after spring practice but expressed understanding at how tough such a decision can be for a transfer during the ever-frenetic portal process.
"He came over here and visited, we had a good visit, obviously we felt we had a pretty attractive situation in that we knew exactly what we were looking for and we don't got 15 guys lined up in that room right now. But we wanted somebody at the end of the day that wanted to come compete here and believed in themself enough to come compete. And we believe this is a pretty good place to play quarterback," Riley said. "So yeah, he kind of went through his process, and in the end I think he just decided this was really where he wanted to be.
"The recruiting process can be tough on guys. The emotions, all that can really play a factor, and I think it probably did for him a little bit -- especially for transfers because it happens so quickly. It doesn't get drawn out like a lot of these high school guys. I think for him, and obviously you can get his own words, but it really felt like once the dust settled and he was able to just catch his breath and say, 'OK, what do I really want to do here?' I think it was pretty clear."
Maiava kept his own words concise in response to most questions Tuesday in his first interview as a Trojans, but he perked up the most when asked what the experience of working with Riley has been like so far.
"It's been great. I've been loving it. Coach Lincoln Riley, he's just such a great dude. Sitting in the film room, the knowledge that he has is amazing," Maiava said.
The redshirt sophomore quarterback has impressed his new coach as well, for that matter.
"He's done a good job, he has. I give him credit. You can tell he's played. He's got some poise about him. I can tell he's put in a lot of work behind the scenes with the staff on his own, with Luke [Huard] in terms of just spending extra time learning the offense. I feel like he's had a really good control of what we're doing here in the first couple days given it was his first few practices with us," Riley said. "He's off to a good start. He's a poised kid. You can tell he's not -- like some true freshmen come in here just wide-eyed. He's played. He's learned how to prepare and you see that out on the field."
Sophomore wide receiver Zachariah Branch was briefly teammates with Maiava at Bishop Gorman HS in Las Vegas before the QB transferred to Liberty HS in Henderson, Nevada. Branch said it's been fun to pick back up with that connection now here at USC and see how the QB has developed since their earlier time together.
"He has a strong arm, for sure. He definitely can throw the ball pretty far, pretty accurate. I love catching the ball from him as well," Branch said.
Maiava had a breakout season as a redshirt freshman at UNLV last fall. After working in off the bench in the team's first two games, Maiava replaced injured starter Doug Brumfield in the third game and went on to pass for 3,085 yards, 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while also rushing for 277 yards and 3 scores.
Asked what prompted his decision to transfer after a successful season, in which he led UNLV to a 9-5 finish (including a stretch of eight wins in nine games after taking over the offense), Maiava again was direct and to the point.
"I just wanted to compete with the best, go out there and push myself, challenge myself and see how far it takes me," he said.
He's in an interesting spot at USC now.
Redshirt junior Miller Moss seems the entrenched favorite for the starting job after passing for six touchdowns in USC's Holiday Bowl win over Louisville, seizing his first extended opportunity to show his command of Riley's offense and his development behind the scenes as Caleb Williams' backup the last two years.
Riley has said that after Moss' bowl game performance the coaching staff decided to back off pursuing an established veteran quarterback (after previously recruiting and hosting K-State transfer Will Howard, who ultimately ended up at Ohio State) and instead prioritized finding a younger QB with experience who could provide good competition to Moss and bolster USC's razor-thin QB depth chart.
"Two things we wanted -- we wanted the guy to be young but we wanted him to have played. Those were like our two deals. We knew we wanted a little more competition in the room, we needed another body in the room, but we wanted somebody that had been on that field before, so he fit it perfectly. We were thrilled about that," Riley said of Maiava.
Riley has declined to formally anoint Moss the starting quarterback, whenever asked about the situation. But it would be hard to envision any scenario where the patient veteran -- who has the respect and support his teammates who have watched his work behind the scenes, who dominated against a top-20 defense in his first career start, and who knows Riley's offense inside and out at this point -- doesn't get the opportunity to open the season as the starter.
But Maiava is here to prove himself as well, still with three years of eligibility left to push either Moss or 2025 five-star QB commit Julian Lewis (if the Trojans can keep him in this class) or whoever over that time.
Moss and Maiava were both asked about the dynamic between them as they go to work this spring ...
“I mean, obviously, in the early stages, but I’m looking forward to working with Jayden and Jake [Jensen] as well, in the room. Obviously, that room has to be strong in order for us to be good, on offense, so definitely looking forward to working with him," Moss said.
Said Maiava: "Miller, he's cool. I love that guy. Hats off to him for what he's done in his past and all his accomplishments. All I do is just try to learn from not just Miller Moss but everybody else in the QB room."
Whatever the future holds for him here, Maiava seems to have the right mindset for the position he's in -- eager to continue his development under a coach he believes can get the best out of him and excited to compete regardless of how anyone perceives the QB picture for 2024.
"I love competing. I love going out there and not just bringing my best but bringing the best out of my teammates. So just going out there and help the team win," Maiava said. "One thing every single day, that's one thing I can control is my attitude so I just go into having a positive attitude and taking everything in and being able to just have fun every single day."
