USC football breakdown: How the Trojans look at quarterback
Part 1 of 6 on USC’s roster after the transfer portal, with Jayden Maiava looking like Riley’s starter in 2025
Lincoln Riley stands next to QB Jayden Maiava during the second half vs UCLA on Nov. 23, 2024, at the Rose Bowl. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Luca Evans (OC Register) — LOS ANGELES — In his freshman year of high school, long before he was minted as Lincoln Riley’s next quarterback of the future at USC, Husan Longstreet was stuck behind Lincoln Riley’s first quarterback of the future at USC.
Longstreet had enrolled at Los Alamitos, a kid who’d watch film for four hours straight since he was in middle school hoping for a fair shake at some snaps. Malachi Nelson, though, stood in his way in that 2021 season, a five-star prospect who had committed to USC and Riley as one of the top quarterbacks in the class of 2023. He had another year of ball left at Los Al. So Longstreet left, and transferred to Inglewood to see the field, playing a year there before heading east to Corona Centennial.
And suddenly, a year after Nelson left USC for an ill-fated backup stint at Boise State and longtime five-star commit Julian Lewis opted for Colorado, Longstreet has assumed his place as the jewel of USC’s quarterback room.
“I feel like we landed on the perfect guy for us,” Riley said of Longstreet on National Signing Day.
Life after Caleb Williams was odd for USC in 2024. Veteran backup Miller Moss took the reins for much of the season and was largely solid, but had a heap too much responsibility placed on his right shoulder and was benched after nine games. UNLV transfer Jayden Maiava took over down the stretch in replacing Moss and offered a complete mixed bag, a toolsy sophomore swinging between heroic and cringe-inducing throws at a moment’s notice.
Longstreet is the anointed one, yes, even heading to USC early in December to participate in a couple bowl practices. But Riley has never started a true freshman quarterback in Week One in his eight years as a head coach, and all signs still point to Maiava getting the first crack in 2025.
“When I go in, if he wins that job,” Longstreet said of Maiava to the Southern California News Group in December, “I’m going to learn from him. Just see what he does, and just go, better from there.”
As the first transfer-portal window has wrapped – although exceptions are always possible – here’s a full breakdown of the movement in USC’s quarterback room entering spring, the first in a six-part series examining the post-portal scholarship outlook for every part of the roster.
Quarterback
Returning: Soph. Jayden Maiava
Arriving: Husan Longstreet (Corona Centennial)
Departing: Jr. Miller Moss (portal, Louisville), Jr. Jake Jensen (portal, undecided)
Top questions
Does USC go after another QB1? Riley said on National Signing Day he’d be “very, very excited” to head into 2025 with Maiava and Longstreet as the two top options in USC’s quarterback room, but Longstreet may not be immediately ready come the fall and Maiava was up and down in four starts for the Trojans in 2024: 59% completion percentage, 1,135 yards, 14 total touchdowns, six interceptions.
The current crop of transfer-portal quarterbacks left uncommitted, though, is weak on solid options. USC did extend an offer to San Jose State transfer Emmett Brown, but Riley also said on National Signing Day that the program would look for another quarterback as “depth in that room.” It’s likely USC rolls with Maiava and Longstreet, even if they add a third piece from what’s left of the portal, into the spring.
Is Maiava Riley’s guy? After the Trojans’ comeback victory in the Las Vegas Bowl, Riley made expressively clear: He was plenty confident in Maiava entering 2025.
“I think, just going through what he’s been through – watching how fast he’s improved, and I think again, most importantly to me is, there’s your performance as a player, but there’s also who you are as a person, a leader,” Riley said. “When you play that position, that’s just part of it.”
Maiava made some truly head-scratching decisions for the better part of the Las Vegas Bowl though, throwing three interceptions amid a four-touchdown performance to pull USC back from a hole he’d helped dig. Maiava is still plenty raw, as his own trainers have observed. His refinement may define much of the Trojans’ fortune this coming fall.
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The new QB recruit looks like just what they need if they are looking for a backup QB. He threw for over 2200 yards in about 9 games in 2022 for Cal Poly. Other than that, he’s one small step above a preferred walk-on. If Maiva got hurt later in the season I would go with Husong. If Maiva transfers out, they will need another experienced QB to start.
Watching the FCS national championship between NDSU and Montana St. Just watched a perfectly executed 47 second 10-play 50-yard drive for a TD just before half (21-3 NDSU). Timeouts and sideline plays were used perfectly. Oh for great coaching again, sigh…
Star wide receiver for Bison is Bryce Lance, younger brother of Trey. He’s balling for sure.
Marc Kulkin’s Takeaway: It’s Hard To Define What A True Trojan Is Kulkin (WeAreSC) — In today’s constantly changing college football landscape, identifying and defining a true Trojan is becoming more difficult. USC has never put the player’s names on the back of their football jerseys and I have a feeling that NIL & the transfer portal will keep the tradition alive. Have you ever asked yourself, what would some of the greatest Trojans to ever wear the Cardinal & Gold have done if they played by today’s transfer rules? I’m talking about guys like Marcus Allen, Ronnie Lott, Chris Claiborne, Matt Barkley… Read more »
Where do I begin answering this post? I strongly feel the real villain here is the NCAA! It’s not what the NIL started, it was not being legally prepared to administer preventing it to where it’s now the runaway freight train it has become. The Portal didn’t have to become a symptom of this “cash & carry” mania but again the NCAA has allowed to go freely with few limitations. And this will continue to build as all the ambulance chasers will feast on players & their parents in raising the ante in making a name for themselves until Congress… Read more »
LR played his high school football in Texas and then coached at Oklahoma who recruits heavily in Texas. Before that he was at East Carolina.So he had relationships with the High School coaches down south(mostly Texas). He came over here and never established relationships with the socal high school coaches. He’s still recruiting down south. Like hanging on to Grench, that was another one of his mistakes that he hasn’t yet corrected. A good start would be to hire Chris Claibourne as LB coach who was a successful high school head coach here in socal and has many connections right… Read more »
The good thing about the O-Lineman from Purdue is that he has a whole lot of experience. This is will his 6th years of playing since high school and one of them was playing with the big dogs in the big 10.
The new O-Lineman that we brought in is a good get. We need experienced O-Linemen. But this guy is not in the same universe with Pregnon. If they could get another like him(the new guy) that would be great. It would create competition and competition creates better athletes in general.
#4 Trojan Women make huge opening statement on the East Coast, handing RUT (8-7, 0-4) its worst loss in school history, 92-42.
The only drama left in the final period was whether the margin of victory would surpass the record 42-point losses that RUT had against NCS (1985) and PSU (1994).
I would seriously consider hiring Chris Claibourne as their LB coach and replacing their receiving coach with Mike Williams. Both of these guys were great USC players and successfull high school coaches.Claibourne has inroads in the socal recruiting market and Williams should have inroads in the Florida market.
Respectfully Mike Williams was a great college receiver. He couldn’t be stopped and was the go to man in most games he was in. I don’t know about his “ name draw” in attracting players from Florida but I do know USC under LR has made a total blunder ignoring California athletes and anyone with a brain can see how that has affected this program. If Williams can attract local athletes then make him the position coach. But don’t send him to Florida to recruit receivers coming thousands of miles away from home and momma. USC not making California-SoCal its… Read more »
You want to fence off your backyard here in socal but that doesn’t mean you ignore one of the biggest recruiting areas in the country….Florida. He definitely should have connections there being a successful HC down there and coming from that area originally.. If he is a good recruiter, he’ll develope those connections here.
What’s up with hiring a new LB coach. They say they already have a guy but he is still coaching because his team is still in the playoffs. If that is true, then why don;t they name him. That would help bring in recruits. I still like Chris Claibourne. He was a successful HC right here in socal. He was a great LB in his day. And he has great inroads when it comes to recruiting in socal and even california as a whole. SC is sitting on one of the biggest recruiting markets in the country. We need to… Read more »
No. 1 Ranked JC RB Waymond Jordan Jr. Commits to USC Scott Schrader (WeAreSC) — 2025 RB Waymond Jordan (5-10, 205) has experienced a lot in the late stages of his recruiting process, but Sunday was the biggest day of all when he committed and signed with USC. The one-time UCF commit and On3 three-star prospect from Hutchinson (Kan.) CC officially visited USC last week. He did not sign with UCF so he was keeping an open mind on the recruiting trail. Originally from Pensacola, FL, Jordan has amassed more than 1,300 yds (7.5 ypc) and 18 rushing TDs this… Read more »
PUR transfer OL DJ Wingfield (6-4, 320, Torrance Redondo Union, CA) signs with USC out of transfer portal Alex Byington (on3.com) — Wingfield will have one season of eligibility remaining after taking advantage of the NCAA waiver for players that have at least one season at a non-NCAA program, after spending his first two years (2020-21) of college at El Camino Junior College, where he played 22 games. Wingfield (a Rivals prep 2-star) started all 11 games this past season at RG for PUR, and had previously announced intentions to enter the 2025 NFL Draft. Wingfield is the sixth transfer addition overall… Read more »
He certainly has a lot of experience under his belt including his junior college years. Amos Tallilele made a mistake leaving. He should have stayed. He probably would have started.
How many of these Portal transferees were top 300 athletes out of HS? And how many are conference all-Americans? When you are trying to fill in holes in your lines and/or bring in players for depth purposes and not throwing down money bags like the top ten programs are, this is what you get. Has any of these athletes received offers from a top ten program? This is how down the brat has taken a name brand program year after year since being hired.
Back in the old days, I used to tune in to all the prep all-star games to see the best vs the best. USC would usually have quite a few big names on the field. The games don’t always tell that much, but occasionally you could get some insight.
Now, I have no idea if USC gets any preps into these games. Either general interest in these games has simply dropped off the map or USC recruiting has slipped into a lower tier. Take your pick.
I’ve used a couple analogies for NIL. Fixing an old car that’s not worth the cost of the repairs, a 3 legged stool with a broken leg, here’s another. A house that needs a makeover but want to sell it. The cost of the remodel won’t be made back on the sale, so sell it as is. Not sure that applies. Anyway, when you have a poor HC why pay big money for players he will misuse? USC NIL money people need to save the NIL and use it to buy out the Brat.
The Branch brothers, Zach and Zion, are headed to GA. Zachariah Branch had 1,863 all-purpose yds during his two seasons at USC, including 78 catches for 823 yds and three TDs. Zion Branch played in all 12 games for USC as a redshirt soph safety this season — 19 tackles, three pass breakups, and one sack as a reserve. He’s the oldest of the two brothers and has been slowed by season-ending injuries in both 2022 and 2023. “I chose the University of Georgia because of its great coaching staff, their pedigree, and the history of the program,” Zion Branch… Read more »
Whether either Branch brother succeeds with the Dawgs is a great question. Nobody doubts the GA football culture. USC’s has always been highly questionable under LR, with even prominent players like Ja’Kobi Lane making questionable public statements during the season to the press. Zach was awesome when he first started at USC. Lightning in a bottle. He was prominently on the cover repping USC on all the 2024 pre-season CFB mags. We (at least most of us) were all looking forward to Zach’s electrifying TD capability as both a WR and returner. Now he’s viewed as a smallish fast guy… Read more »
As disappointing as this season was, we managed to beat as many SEC teams as Oklahoma. Someone should bring that to Paul Finebaum’s attention,since he is always singing the praises of the Sooners head coach.
To call the Branch Brothers morons would insult morons everywhere. There’s a lot of wasted potential wrapped up in their wake. Zach never put up the numbers people expected and probably helped put the schneid on Lincoln Riley. Yes Riley called pass plays that didn’t materialize, but at the other end of ball Zach dropped as many passes as he caught. Those that he did catch he didn’t impress as he usually couldn’t evade any defensive backs.The plus of the portal is ridding the team of players who are legends in their own minds.
You can’t have Zach in there on those outside sideline screens. Those screens won’t work unless they are properly blocked and Zach is a terrible blocker. Also, he doesn’t break tackles. You don’t even need arm tackles to bring him down. You can bring him down with hand tackles. He usually doesn’t get a lot of yards after catch. I don’t think that he will make it big at Georgia. Michael Jackson III didn’t and he was a much better deep receiver than Zach.
The new QB recruit looks like just what they need if they are looking for a backup QB. He threw for over 2200 yards in about 9 games in 2022 for Cal Poly. Other than that, he’s one small step above a preferred walk-on. If Maiva got hurt later in the season I would go with Husong. If Maiva transfers out, they will need another experienced QB to start.
Watching the FCS national championship between NDSU and Montana St. Just watched a perfectly executed 47 second 10-play 50-yard drive for a TD just before half (21-3 NDSU). Timeouts and sideline plays were used perfectly. Oh for great coaching again, sigh…
Star wide receiver for Bison is Bryce Lance, younger brother of Trey. He’s balling for sure.
10th national championship in 15 years. The Bison are a program. The Trojans are a year-to-year team.
Marc Kulkin’s Takeaway: It’s Hard To Define What A True Trojan Is Kulkin (WeAreSC) — In today’s constantly changing college football landscape, identifying and defining a true Trojan is becoming more difficult. USC has never put the player’s names on the back of their football jerseys and I have a feeling that NIL & the transfer portal will keep the tradition alive. Have you ever asked yourself, what would some of the greatest Trojans to ever wear the Cardinal & Gold have done if they played by today’s transfer rules? I’m talking about guys like Marcus Allen, Ronnie Lott, Chris Claiborne, Matt Barkley… Read more »
Where do I begin answering this post? I strongly feel the real villain here is the NCAA! It’s not what the NIL started, it was not being legally prepared to administer preventing it to where it’s now the runaway freight train it has become. The Portal didn’t have to become a symptom of this “cash & carry” mania but again the NCAA has allowed to go freely with few limitations. And this will continue to build as all the ambulance chasers will feast on players & their parents in raising the ante in making a name for themselves until Congress… Read more »
USC football receives commitment from Sam Huard: Trojans land former UW, CAL POLY and UTAH QB
USC will be Sam Huard’s fourth school.
Connor Morrissette (USCFootball.com) — Huard (6-2, 200) is the nephew of USC QBs coach Luke Huard.
Huard will likely replace Jake Jensen as the third-string quarterback on the Trojans roster for next season following Jensen’s transfer to MONT.
Huard did not play an offensive snap for UTAH this season and has two years of eligibility.
247sports.com
LR played his high school football in Texas and then coached at Oklahoma who recruits heavily in Texas. Before that he was at East Carolina.So he had relationships with the High School coaches down south(mostly Texas). He came over here and never established relationships with the socal high school coaches. He’s still recruiting down south. Like hanging on to Grench, that was another one of his mistakes that he hasn’t yet corrected. A good start would be to hire Chris Claibourne as LB coach who was a successful high school head coach here in socal and has many connections right… Read more »
Claibourne would be a killer hire for LB spot.
The good thing about the O-Lineman from Purdue is that he has a whole lot of experience. This is will his 6th years of playing since high school and one of them was playing with the big dogs in the big 10.
The new O-Lineman that we brought in is a good get. We need experienced O-Linemen. But this guy is not in the same universe with Pregnon. If they could get another like him(the new guy) that would be great. It would create competition and competition creates better athletes in general.
Well no jet lag for the Trojans in Piscataway. Trojans win by 50, at one point up by 55! Hope they have some left for Maryland on Wednesday.
#4 Trojan Women make huge opening statement on the East Coast, handing RUT (8-7, 0-4) its worst loss in school history, 92-42.
The only drama left in the final period was whether the margin of victory would surpass the record 42-point losses that RUT had against NCS (1985) and PSU (1994).
I would seriously consider hiring Chris Claibourne as their LB coach and replacing their receiving coach with Mike Williams. Both of these guys were great USC players and successfull high school coaches.Claibourne has inroads in the socal recruiting market and Williams should have inroads in the Florida market.
Respectfully Mike Williams was a great college receiver. He couldn’t be stopped and was the go to man in most games he was in. I don’t know about his “ name draw” in attracting players from Florida but I do know USC under LR has made a total blunder ignoring California athletes and anyone with a brain can see how that has affected this program. If Williams can attract local athletes then make him the position coach. But don’t send him to Florida to recruit receivers coming thousands of miles away from home and momma. USC not making California-SoCal its… Read more »
You want to fence off your backyard here in socal but that doesn’t mean you ignore one of the biggest recruiting areas in the country….Florida. He definitely should have connections there being a successful HC down there and coming from that area originally.. If he is a good recruiter, he’ll develope those connections here.
What’s up with hiring a new LB coach. They say they already have a guy but he is still coaching because his team is still in the playoffs. If that is true, then why don;t they name him. That would help bring in recruits. I still like Chris Claibourne. He was a successful HC right here in socal. He was a great LB in his day. And he has great inroads when it comes to recruiting in socal and even california as a whole. SC is sitting on one of the biggest recruiting markets in the country. We need to… Read more »
Former 2023 5-star prep USC QB Malachi Nelson has landed at UTEP after playing in three games for BOISE ST.
HIm and Rashada in a contest now to see who can transfer the most.
No. 1 Ranked JC RB Waymond Jordan Jr. Commits to USC Scott Schrader (WeAreSC) — 2025 RB Waymond Jordan (5-10, 205) has experienced a lot in the late stages of his recruiting process, but Sunday was the biggest day of all when he committed and signed with USC. The one-time UCF commit and On3 three-star prospect from Hutchinson (Kan.) CC officially visited USC last week. He did not sign with UCF so he was keeping an open mind on the recruiting trail. Originally from Pensacola, FL, Jordan has amassed more than 1,300 yds (7.5 ypc) and 18 rushing TDs this… Read more »
That’s good. You never know how good this guy will turn out to be. Remember, O.J. was a J.C. transfer.
PUR transfer OL DJ Wingfield (6-4, 320, Torrance Redondo Union, CA) signs with USC out of transfer portal Alex Byington (on3.com) — Wingfield will have one season of eligibility remaining after taking advantage of the NCAA waiver for players that have at least one season at a non-NCAA program, after spending his first two years (2020-21) of college at El Camino Junior College, where he played 22 games. Wingfield (a Rivals prep 2-star) started all 11 games this past season at RG for PUR, and had previously announced intentions to enter the 2025 NFL Draft. Wingfield is the sixth transfer addition overall… Read more »
He certainly has a lot of experience under his belt including his junior college years. Amos Tallilele made a mistake leaving. He should have stayed. He probably would have started.
How many of these Portal transferees were top 300 athletes out of HS? And how many are conference all-Americans? When you are trying to fill in holes in your lines and/or bring in players for depth purposes and not throwing down money bags like the top ten programs are, this is what you get. Has any of these athletes received offers from a top ten program? This is how down the brat has taken a name brand program year after year since being hired.
Back in the old days, I used to tune in to all the prep all-star games to see the best vs the best. USC would usually have quite a few big names on the field. The games don’t always tell that much, but occasionally you could get some insight.
Now, I have no idea if USC gets any preps into these games. Either general interest in these games has simply dropped off the map or USC recruiting has slipped into a lower tier. Take your pick.
I’ve used a couple analogies for NIL. Fixing an old car that’s not worth the cost of the repairs, a 3 legged stool with a broken leg, here’s another. A house that needs a makeover but want to sell it. The cost of the remodel won’t be made back on the sale, so sell it as is. Not sure that applies. Anyway, when you have a poor HC why pay big money for players he will misuse? USC NIL money people need to save the NIL and use it to buy out the Brat.
The Branch brothers, Zach and Zion, are headed to GA. Zachariah Branch had 1,863 all-purpose yds during his two seasons at USC, including 78 catches for 823 yds and three TDs. Zion Branch played in all 12 games for USC as a redshirt soph safety this season — 19 tackles, three pass breakups, and one sack as a reserve. He’s the oldest of the two brothers and has been slowed by season-ending injuries in both 2022 and 2023. “I chose the University of Georgia because of its great coaching staff, their pedigree, and the history of the program,” Zion Branch… Read more »
Sad, but that’s exactly what kids used to say when committing to USC.
If Zach can’t make it as a receiver at UGA, he won’t anywhere. They never seem to have great WRs. Zion is good, not great, but will probably get hurt.
I won’t say good riddance, but I think these two are still living off their out-sized Las Vegas high school reputations.
Whether either Branch brother succeeds with the Dawgs is a great question. Nobody doubts the GA football culture. USC’s has always been highly questionable under LR, with even prominent players like Ja’Kobi Lane making questionable public statements during the season to the press. Zach was awesome when he first started at USC. Lightning in a bottle. He was prominently on the cover repping USC on all the 2024 pre-season CFB mags. We (at least most of us) were all looking forward to Zach’s electrifying TD capability as both a WR and returner. Now he’s viewed as a smallish fast guy… Read more »
As disappointing as this season was, we managed to beat as many SEC teams as Oklahoma. Someone should bring that to Paul Finebaum’s attention,since he is always singing the praises of the Sooners head coach.
To call the Branch Brothers morons would insult morons everywhere. There’s a lot of wasted potential wrapped up in their wake. Zach never put up the numbers people expected and probably helped put the schneid on Lincoln Riley. Yes Riley called pass plays that didn’t materialize, but at the other end of ball Zach dropped as many passes as he caught. Those that he did catch he didn’t impress as he usually couldn’t evade any defensive backs.The plus of the portal is ridding the team of players who are legends in their own minds.
You can’t have Zach in there on those outside sideline screens. Those screens won’t work unless they are properly blocked and Zach is a terrible blocker. Also, he doesn’t break tackles. You don’t even need arm tackles to bring him down. You can bring him down with hand tackles. He usually doesn’t get a lot of yards after catch. I don’t think that he will make it big at Georgia. Michael Jackson III didn’t and he was a much better deep receiver than Zach.