As the USC Trojans prepare for their Week 1 homestand against Missouri State, head coach Lincoln Riley continues to be pleased with starting quarterback Jayden Maiava’s growth.
Maiava stepped in for the Trojans at the end of last season, replacing Miller Moss and leading USC to a 6-1 record, including a Las Vegas Bowl victory over Texas A&M, 35-31. The junior’s performance when the Trojans needed him last season, combined with Moss’s transfer to Louisville have primed Maiava to be a solid starter for USC this fall.
Riley’s seen a lot of improvement from the quarterback, but highlighted a few specific areas during his Monday appearance on “Trojans Live.”
“I think his decision-making and situational decision-making is probably the biggest thing,” Riley said. “That’s already starting to show up throughout spring and certainly here into fall camp. He’s not just out there trying to run plays anymore. He has a much different understanding than he did a year ago on why we’re doing things, how his decisions are going to fluctuate depending on the situation."
The head coach explained Maiava’s high football IQ has contributed to a fall camp that’s “been pretty high level quarterback play.”
“Understanding where we can afford to take chances and be really aggressive and times where [we] don’t,” Riley said. “His overall feel for not just offense but playing the game through the offense, I Iike to say is in a very different place. That’s part of the growth we expected and challenged him and ourselves as coaches.”
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Pressure is inevitable for any quarterback, but Maiava is tasked this season with leading the Trojans through a tough schedule which includes three consecutive games against ranked opponents in Weeks 5-7.