The competition was close. Closer than anyone expected, it would certainly be the end of August. So close that Jayden Maiava, the Rebels transfer from Nevada Las Vegas, believed at the time he had done enough to be named USC’s starting quarterback.
The job ultimately went to Miller Moss, the redshirt junior whose six-score coronation had occurred months earlier at the Holiday Bowl. In that case, Maiava understood the uphill battle he faced when he came to LA. But the decision, while not a surprise to the public, was no less disappointing for Maiava.
He was competitive. He thought he made the most of his reps. Now you couldn’t know when they would come again.
“Most backups would be frustrated with the process at that point,” said Ryan Porter, Maiava’s quarterbacks coach. “They wouldn’t be as committed or proactive. They lose focus.”
Read more: USC benched Miller Moss in favor of Jayden Maiava, who will start against Nebraska
But nearly three months later, Porter looks back on that lost quarterback competition as if it was the best thing that could have happened to Maiava, who was named the Trojans’ new starter this week.
“This kid got to come in, play spring football, do the first nine games and learn,” Porter said. “Learn from all the mistakes that have been made, learn from all the success that has been achieved, learn from the good and the bad. He had to sit back and learn a system from a great coaching staff and a great quarterback room, and in my opinion, you couldn’t ask for a better situation.
Maiava agrees: “It was phenomenal for me,” he said Wednesday, “I just learned a lot from the game.”
That’s not to say that sitting out most of the season while USC lost four of its last five was easy.
He started at UNLV a year ago, passing for 3,085 yards and 17 touchdowns and rushing for 277 yards and three more touchdowns. Before that, he had attended three different high schools in Hawaii and Las Vegas all four years.
One year at UNLV had taught him more than anything that he could only control so much, and that lesson would prove especially valuable as he waited his turn at USC.
As the newly named No. 2 quarterback, Maiava tried to let go of what he couldn’t control and “fall in love with the process,” he said. He stayed away from social media. He never brought up Lincoln Riley’s plans or complained about his spot as a backup, even though Moss struggled to get into his spot last month. Maiava also never mentioned a move to another place where playing time would be smoother.
“You’re either the cure or you’re the cancer, you know?” Maiava said. “All I’m trying to do is be the medicine for the team.”
Read more: Jayden Maiava has the tools and training to become USC’s quarterback of the future
That was a telling approach from Porter, who coached longtime Heisman winner and current Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels. He had seen too many quarterbacks concerned with speeding up the process.
“That’s how I knew Jayden [Maiava] had the opportunity to be very, very special,” he said. “What I’ve found from experience is that the good ones don’t worry about whether they agree with a coach’s decision, or with the calling or the staff.”
When he and Porter talked, whether it was via FaceTime, Zoom or text, Porter always tried to provide reassuring guidance, helping to keep his confidence high. “Your time will come,” he told him.
But Porter never heard more than a fleeting moment of frustration from his student. It just wasn’t in his nature to dwell on anything. Quiet and unassuming, Maiava didn’t even like to discuss how many reps he got against Moss in practice.
“Never have I heard any negativity in his voice,” Porter said. “Like, never, never.”
“Most young kids come in and say, ‘I should be the guy! Man, this is the opposite of that kid. When you walk in, you actually see someone kissing your girlfriend. But I told him, ‘Bud, you’re going to be able to lean on this experience. You will be able to embrace this adversity, and it will make you the quarterback you are supposed to be when you play on Sunday.
The experience paid off in other ways too. Maiava was “super raw,” Porter admits, when he arrived at USC. Until that point, his football career had relied almost entirely on his instincts and ability to improvise. There was another layer of the position he still had to learn. Plus, he needed time to process Riley’s foul.
But time gave him the opportunity to delve deeper into learning protection and other finer points of the role. He tried to glean as much as he could from observation, taking special cues from Moss – “a very brilliant quarterback” – and his “decision-making on the field.”
That progress was not lost on Riley, who said he has seen a steady climb from Maiava since then.
“It’s not easy being the backup,” Riley said, “and I felt like he handled it well. He’s gotten better every week.”
This week, after Monday’s film review, Riley pulled Maiava into his office to tell him he was making a move to quarterback. The coach later simply explained that he felt it was “in the best interest of the team to give Jayden an opportunity here.”
Leaving Moss meant that the fragile emotional balance in the dressing room changed. He was a vocal leader of the team, something that didn’t necessarily come naturally to the more reserved Maiava.
Read more: The Times of Troy: What’s the price of keeping Miller Moss as USC’s starter?
But players assured on Wednesday that little had changed. But in the two days since his promotion, Maiava has tried to speak up more often and do what he can to seize the opportunity.
“I think everyone has their own style of leadership,” Maiava said. “Everyone has their own way of behaving.”
However, few possess the physical skills that Maiava will bring to the position when he takes the field against Nebraska on November 16.
Woody Marks, USC’s leading running back, raved about Maiava’s “cannon arm,” while Lake McRee noted that Maiava “can throw the ball anywhere.” And while Riley insisted this week that USC’s offense won’t change much with him at the helm, it’s hard to imagine those physical skills won’t be part of the Trojans’ game plan next weekend.
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“How do you argue with 6-5, 230?” Porter asked. “That’s a problem, dude.”
And with the season quickly passing by, USC is hoping Maiava can be the solution it so desperately needs. But he now knows he can only control so much of it.
“I’m only here for one thing, and that’s just to win games,” Maiava said. “The best thing I could do for this team is put them in the best situation to win games. I’m going to risk my life for them.
“So hopefully they do the same.”
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
