USC QB Jayden Maiava, second from left, and Husan Longstreet warmup during a practice. (Allen J. Schaben/LAT)— Lincoln Riley must decide whether to stick with Jayden Maiava, whose efficiency has wavered, or promote top freshman Husan Longstreet.
— During the transfer era Riley is pleading with Longstreet to stay at USC, learn and wait for his turn to lead the offense.
— Maiava led the Big Ten in passing yards per game before faltering against elite defenses, raising questions about his job security.
Ryan Kartje (LA Times) — During each of his last two Decembers at USC, Lincoln Riley faced a critical decision at quarterback: Pursue a new passer in the portal or trust the one who’s next in line?
In each case, Riley has opted to keep the known quantity. But as his fourth regular season at USC comes to a close Saturday against UCLA, the coach could face a more complicated conundrum at the position this offseason.
Run it back with Jayden Maiava, who statistically has been one of the more accomplished passers in college football this season? Or turn the page to electric five-star freshman Husan Longstreet, who might not be willing to wait much longer for his shot as USC’s starting quarterback?
It’s a question that has confounded many college football coaches during the transfer portal era, as the notion of a top quarterback prospect patiently waiting his turn to be named a starter has become increasingly rare. Of the top dozen quarterbacks in the class of 2024, six have already transferred. From 2023, it’s seven of the top 12. From 2022, it’s eight. And of those who do stay, only a handful were still waiting to start as sophomores.
Jayden Maiava looks for an open receiver during win over MICH at the Coliseum on Oct. 11. (Gina Ferazzi/LAT)
It’s not clear yet if that’ll be the case with Longstreet. But this week, Riley made a clear plea for the young passer’s patience when asked about the challenge of convincing a top prospect to stick around in a reserve role.
“For any player, especially a quarterback, I don’t know if this would be the right time to leave this place,” Riley said. “This thing is getting pretty good. And I think a lot of people recognize that, both in what we have now and what we’re bringing in, where this thing is going.”
Speaking to Longstreet’s situation, Riley pointed to his track record with quarterbacks who waited their turn.
“Other than Jalen Hurts, we haven’t had any quarterback that’s come in and was the guy right away,” Riley said. “Every one of them, all the guys that did all the things, they all had that time. And if you ask them now, maybe then they wanted to be playing of course, the competitor in them. But if you ask them now, they’re all damn happy they had time and it made a big difference. Because when it became their time, they were ready.”
USC QB Husan Longstreet scores a TD against MO ST at the Coliseum on Aug. 30. (Luke Hales/Getty Images)
Maiava, of course, has been more than just a mere caretaker. After all, he leads the Big Ten in passing yards per game this season (3,174), while also leading USC in rushing touchdowns (6). With Maiava and his cannon arm at the helm, USC’s offense has returned to its right place as one of college football’s most explosive outfits, producing 51 plays of 20-plus yards this season, fourth-most in the nation.
On paper, there’s no reason to think Riley would be eager to replace Maiava, who has rejuvenated both the read-option game and the downfield aspect of his offense since taking over for Miller Moss last season. But the conversation about USC’s future at the position was complicated by the second half of the season, during which Maiava stumbled against stiffer competition.
During the Trojans’ first six games, Maiava appeared to have taken a major step forward. He was completing 72% of his passes, up 12% from the previous year. He was averaging an eye-popping 11 yards per attempt, two yards better than Caleb Williams in his Heisman-winning season. Plus, after vowing to cut down on turnovers, Maiava had only thrown two interceptions over those six games, showcasing a much better grasp of the game and Riley’s offense.
“A very high percentage of our plays, he knows what to do and where to go with the ball,” Riley said. “He’s very comfortable with what we’re doing. Very focused, confident on his reads. That’s why he’s been so efficient all year.”
The strong start garnered serious NFL interest. Pro Football Focus just recently ranked Maiava as the No. 5 draft-eligible quarterback in the upcoming draft. But his second half of the season has begged some questions — not just about whether Maiava is ready to declare for the draft, but whether he’s the right quarterback for Riley to prioritize heading into next season.
Up against three of the nation’s top 11 defenses in pass yards allowed — Oregon, Iowa and Nebraska — Maiava keeps up the same consistency from the season’s first half. His completion rate, through his last five outings, sits just above 59% — lower than it was during his 2024 stint as USC’s starter. Maiava’s turnovers have also tripled during that stretch (6), while he’s averaging more than three yards fewer per attempt (7.64)
Riley said Tuesday that Maiava’s inconsistencies of late were due to the caliber of defenses he’s faced — and circumstances that forced USC’s offense to be aggressive downfield.
“We’ve continued to score points and win games and have one of the best offenses in the country, and he’s been a big part of that,” Riley said. “He’s still learning. He can play better. But he’s continuing to give us chances to win every week.”
Jayden Maiava gestures to teammates during win over IOWA on Nov. 15. (Mark J. Terrill / AP)
He’ll also have the chance in the coming weeks to consider if he wants to enter the NFL draft.
In the meantime, Longstreet will continue to watch dutifully as the No. 2 quarterback. He’s appeared in four games, completing 13 of 15 passes, on his way to a redshirt season. That time waiting, Riley said, has been essential.
“This has been such a valuable year for him — to serve as a backup quarterback, to learn, to just kind of be there to see all of these things transpire,” Riley said. “These are just things you can’t simulate. It gives you an opportunity to watch these different situations, how they happen, be able to go back, like, ‘What would you do? How would you handle it?’
“The hope is maybe you learn, ‘All right, I wasn’t the one playing, but when I am, I know exactly what I need to do or what I don’t need to do.’ It might be about on the field. It might be about leadership. It might be about a number of different things.”
Husan Longstreet is pushed out of bounds by ILL’ Miles Scott at Memorial Stadium on Sept. 27 in Champaign, Ill. (Justin Casterline / Getty Images)
When Longstreet will get a chance to put that knowledge to use remains to be seen. But his teammates at USC have been impressed so far by what they’ve seen from the freshman.
“Husan is a machine, for real,” said freshman Tanook Hines. “He throwing that thing about 80 [yards], then turn around and run 4.3, 4.2.”
Others were even more encouraging of the quarterback they hope stays a part of USC’s plans.
“He’s destined for greatness,” guard Kaylon Miller said of Longstreet. “Every single time I see him out there, I tell him, keep doing your thing. You keep going on the route you are right now, you’re going to be great.”
latimes.com
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When it’s the crosstown game, the better team plays down to the level of the underdog who fights above its ability to stay in the game until the end. You’ve seen this happen countless times and wonder why is this happening. We could win by 20 points or by 2-points on a last second FG and just shake your head. I’m hoping for the former of course. This game could be the sloppiest one played all year by USC just being its undisciplined self?
I gather, Waymond will suit up, but only play if necessary [ if King is injured during the game]. 😉Nico will only play if he is promised more money for next year😄
USC 52 ucla 9. Long day coming the ruins.
What is USC going to do with ucla, run the daylights out of them and get King over 1000 yards or will they build Lemons achievments to get him the Belitnikof award. Going to be a show, I hope.
Do I have to choose? Can I have both, please?
Would that be something?
The Athletic (Justin Williams) — Week 14 and the CFP race’s top 10 games: Texas-Texas A&M, Michigan-Ohio State and more 10. No. 21 SMU (8-3) at Cal (6-5), 8 p.m., ESPN Line: SMU -11.5 9. Virginia Tech (3-8) at No. 18 Virginia (9-2), 7 p.m., ESPN Line: Virginia -10.5 8. No. 12 Miami (9-2) at No. 22 Pitt (8-3), Noon, ABC Line: Miami -6.5 7. No. 6 Oregon (10-1) at Washington (8-3), 3:30 p.m., CBS Line: Oregon -6.5 6. No. 7 Ole Miss (10-1) at Mississippi State (5-6), Fri., Noon, ABC Line: Ole Miss -7.5 5. No. 4 Georgia (10-1) vs No. 23 Georgia Tech… Read more »
UCLA shooting for three straight wins at the Coliseum Ben Bolch (LAT) — Signs of rivalry week have greeted anyone who walked past the boarded-up John Wooden and bear statues on campus, though it’s been a little quieter than the Bruins would have preferred. That’s because they haven’t been able to ring the Victory Bell that’s residing across town after USC won last year’s game, 19-13, at the Rose Bowl. “We want to get it back, we want to ring it after the game,” UCLA OL Garrett DiGiorgio said. “The [USC] guys, they planted flags on our field last year. I… Read more »
It’s Thanksgiving weekend, so many students are away; a lighter crowd makes for less intense rallies [ at both schools]. Trojans will win easily.
You’d think, but I haven’t seen any empty seats in any of the games today.
College football is more popular than ever, despite all the massive changes that have caused some to think the game would be going downhill.
agree…I meant this week leading up to the game. We will see a full house tomorrow.
Allen, I’ve been a USC diehard for years, (you longer) since the 60’s, and can’t help but be skeptical of this game against UCLA. This game is, and will always be, UCLA’s natty game. They can have a miserable season ( yes many of their seasons are ), be completely overmatched, and the point spread massive, but they come out on fire, stay on fire, and get the upset. LA natty won. They just do it on pure adrenaline to “save the season” and they believe it. USC, especially with laid back, okie dokie Riley, is not overly inspired. Typically we’ve just lost a big game(s), the… Read more »
It’s a shame that the USC/UCLA game doesn’t hold the national spotlight like it used to. But for those of us who grew up detesting losing to UCLA, it’s as big a deal as ever. I think the players feel the same way, though I used to wonder if Lincoln Riley understood the importance of the rivalry. I think he’s got the picture now and I fully expect USC to play with its hair on fire and do a number on the little gutties. I love to call them that. Old habits die hard. Now let’s beat the livin’ crap… Read more »
No prediction by this old Trojan.
History shows anything can happen in this rivalry game.
There seems to be that bench warmer that comes in and plays out of his mind. Hope he is a Trojan. All the Ruins had was Nico and he is pretty beaten up. They are a rudderless ship this time. We put 50-0 on Neuheisel we can do it to these guys.
What’s your most disappointing USC/UCLA game ever? Definitely, one of mine is the 20-17 loss in 1980 when Jeff Fisher tipped the ball to Freeman McNeil who ran it in from about 60 yds out for the winning score with two mins to go.
13-9
That 2006 game was an interesting one for me in terms of how I felt when it was over.
Strangely, I wasn’t as upset with the loss as I thought I would be, or should have been. Why?
USC played so badly, and looked so inefficient throughout the game, that the loss was easier for me to accept. I think I just felt that USC totally deserved to lose the game, so I blew off the result in a way. I know. Very strange.
11-2 USC still beat MICH in the ’07 Rose Bowl 32-18. Maybe that helped.
A BCS opportunity lost plus allowing the hated gators in through the back door to play tosu puts this one at the top for me.
Easy.
Beban to Altenburg, 1965. My freshman year. I had already lit my victory cigar with 5 minutes left in the game. I wore black for a week.
13-9 is a distant second, more for the historical consequences than anything else. After seeing Florida mop the floor with undefeated Ohio State in the NC game I was convinced SC could have and would have beaten Florida by 2 TDs for an untainted national championship. By 2006 I had grown out of self-flagellation over football losses.
Absolutely. I think it’s my No. 1 UCLA loss as well. I was actually at the 1965 20-16 loss with my best friend, another huge SC fan who’s father was a great QB for USC in the Thundering Herd days. It was also the first USC game I ever attended at the Coliseum, which was a stunning display of red, power blue, and the green grass. I was blown away by the spectacle, and USC was just cruising along to what seemed like victory when whammo! Beban went nuts on fumble-prone USC. We all drove home stunned, depressed, and near… Read more »
Jeez, I remember that game probably more than a lot of others.
Happy Belated Thanksgiving to all on TDB. I truely am thankful for faith, family, friends, football and a great sail on a warm day with a cool steady breeze. Thanks Allen and John for TDB. Always something interesting the year round, even when Allen blasts me for saying something stupid. Now FUCLA, beat the Ruins, FTFO!
How about a USC/UCLA score prediction GT? We’re 21.5 pt faves. I can’t remember a time USC was favored by this many points.
Ruins lost to UW by 34 last week, 38 to OSU, and 50 to IU and couldn’t beat Neb and their frosh QB. USC should win by well over 21. If not Riley is at fault for not getting the team up for this game.
42-17 Trojans
I personally think Maiava is ready for the NFL. Once he gets in there and spends the long days with coaches doing nothing but football he is going to become a good nfl Qb. His size will help him at that level being able to take the blows. I look at Caleb and see that the time spent has made him a much better Qb. The college game is designed for a player like Husan, and with his speed and running abilty we will see something we have not seen much of lately, a true dual threat, making the run… Read more »
If he goes late in the draft it will likely be as a backup/QB of the future. He will have time to learn the pro game without being thrown to the wolves like so many first round QBs.
I think he should spend one more year at SC. He might leave because he looking at the possibility of losing Lemon and Lane and not having as much of a productive season.
You can’t go wrong spending another season under LR and Luke Huard(who is an outstanding QB coach). He still makes bad decisions, throws too many interceptions and although he has a strong arm, he’s inaccurate at times. And he’s got an O-Line that will protect him. He really wasn’t sacked that much this year.
One thing the pros love is his ability to throw the long ball accurately. When I see the turn around in Caleb this year it shows me there are good coaches in nfl that teach a young guy with talent a lot. I think Maiava is a young guy with considerable talent that needs the intense coaching of the nfl to improve.
I don’t see how you would get better coaching than Luke Huard and LR if you are a QB. LR has developed many Heisman candidates and winners and Luke is up for the Frank Broyles award this year for best assistant. Also, you don’t improve much sitting on the bench and that’s where Maiva would be in the pros.
Again, Go here and vote for Makai Lemon:
I voted. I encourage all the other SC fans to do the same. Thanks for putting it up.