{"id":408997,"date":"2025-11-27T19:30:30","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T19:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/408997\/"},"modified":"2025-11-27T19:30:30","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T19:30:30","slug":"will-jayden-maiava-and-husan-longstreet-remain-usc-quarterbacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/408997\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Jayden Maiava and Husan Longstreet remain USC quarterbacks?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

During each of his last two Decembers at USC, Lincoln Riley<\/a> faced a critical decision at quarterback<\/a>: Pursue a new passer in the portal or trust the one who\u2019s next in line?<\/p>\n

In each case, Riley has opted to keep the known quantity. But as his fourth regular season at USC<\/a> comes to a close Saturday against UCLA<\/a>, the coach could face a more complicated conundrum at the position this offseason.<\/p>\n

Run it back with Jayden Maiava<\/a>, 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<\/a>, who might not be willing to wait much longer for his shot as USC\u2019s starting quarterback?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s 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\u2019s seven of the top 12. From 2022, it\u2019s eight. And of those who do stay, only a handful were still waiting to start as sophomores.<\/p>\n

\"USC <\/p>\n

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava looks for an open receiver during a win over Michigan at the Coliseum on Oct. 11.<\/p>\n

(Gina Ferazzi\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not clear yet if that\u2019ll be the case with Longstreet. But this week, Riley made a clear plea for the young passer\u2019s patience when asked about the challenge of convincing a top prospect to stick around in a reserve role.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor any player, especially a quarterback, I don\u2019t know if this would be the right time to leave this place,\u201d Riley said. \u201cThis thing is getting pretty good. And I think a lot of people recognize that, both in what we have now and what we\u2019re bringing in, where this thing is going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking to Longstreet\u2019s situation, Riley pointed to his track record<\/a> with quarterbacks who waited their turn.<\/p>\n

\u201cOther than Jalen Hurts, we haven\u2019t had any quarterback that\u2019s come in and was the guy right away,\u201d Riley said. \u201cEvery 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\u2019re all damn happy they had time and it made a big difference. Because when it became their time, they were ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"USC <\/p>\n

USC quarterback Husan Longstreet scores a touchdown against the Missouri State at the Coliseum on Aug. 30.<\/p>\n

(Luke Hales\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

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\u2019s offense has returned to its right place as one of college football\u2019s most explosive outfits, producing 51 plays of 20-plus yards this season, fourth-most in the nation.<\/p>\n

On paper, there\u2019s 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<\/a> last season. But the conversation about USC\u2019s future at the position was complicated by the second half of the season, during which Maiava stumbled against stiffer competition.<\/p>\n

During the Trojans\u2019 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<\/a>. 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\u2019s offense.<\/p>\n

\u201cA very high percentage of our plays, he knows what to do and where to go with the ball,\u201d Riley said. \u201cHe\u2019s very comfortable with what we\u2019re doing. Very focused, confident on his reads. That\u2019s why he\u2019s been so efficient all year.\u201d<\/p>\n

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 \u2014 not just about whether Maiava is ready to declare for the draft, but whether he\u2019s the right quarterback for Riley to prioritize heading into next season.<\/p>\n

Up against three of the nation\u2019s top 11 defenses in pass yards allowed \u2014 Oregon, Iowa and Nebraska \u2014 Maiava keeps up the same consistency from the season\u2019s first half. His completion rate, through his last five outings, sits just above 59% \u2014 lower than it was during his 2024 stint as USC\u2019s starter. Maiava\u2019s turnovers have also tripled during that stretch (6), while he\u2019s averaging more than three yards fewer per attempt (7.64)<\/p>\n

Riley said Tuesday that Maiava\u2019s inconsistencies of late were due to the caliber of defenses he\u2019s faced \u2014 and circumstances that forced USC\u2019s offense to be aggressive downfield.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve continued to score points and win games and have one of the best offenses in the country, and he\u2019s been a big part of that,\u201d Riley said. \u201cHe\u2019s still learning. He can play better. But he\u2019s continuing to give us chances to win every week.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"USC <\/p>\n

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava gestures to teammates during a win over Iowa on Nov. 15.<\/p>\n

(Mark J. Terrill \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll also have the chance in the coming weeks to consider if he wants to enter the NFL draft. <\/p>\n

In the meantime, Longstreet will continue to watch dutifully as the No. 2 quarterback. He\u2019s appeared in four games, completing 13 of 15 passes, on his way to a redshirt season. That time waiting, Riley said, has been essential.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has been such a valuable year for him \u2014 to serve as a backup quarterback, to learn, to just kind of be there to see all of these things transpire,\u201d Riley said. \u201cThese are just things you can\u2019t simulate. It gives you an opportunity to watch these different situations, how they happen, be able to go back, like, \u2018What would you do? How would you handle it?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hope is maybe you learn, \u2018All right, I wasn\u2019t the one playing, but when I am, I know exactly what I need to do or what I don\u2019t need to do.\u2019 It might be about on the field. It might be about leadership. It might be about a number of different things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"USC <\/p>\n

USC quarterback Husan Longstreet is pushed out of bounds by Illinois\u2019 Miles Scott at Memorial Stadium on Sept. 27 in Champaign, Ill.<\/p>\n

(Justin Casterline \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

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\u2019ve seen from the freshman.<\/p>\n

\u201cHusan is a machine, for real,\u201d said freshman Tanook Hines. \u201cHe throwing that thing about 80 [yards], then turn around and run 4.3, 4.2.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others were even more encouraging of the quarterback they hope stays a part of USC\u2019s plans.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s destined for greatness,\u201d guard Kaylon Miller said of Longstreet. \u201cEvery 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\u2019re going to be great.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"During each of his last two Decembers at USC, Lincoln Riley faced a critical decision at quarterback: Pursue…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":408998,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,276,1428,262,1910,192566,82156,2961,60839,192564,224,5337,471,43367,17946,192565,5950,17823,192563,80883],"class_list":{"0":"post-408997","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-college-football","11":"tag-defense","12":"tag-game","13":"tag-husan-longstreet","14":"tag-jayden-maiava","15":"tag-la","16":"tag-lincoln-riley","17":"tag-longstreet","18":"tag-los-angeles","19":"tag-losangeles","20":"tag-no","21":"tag-offense","22":"tag-pass","23":"tag-right-time","24":"tag-season","25":"tag-thing","26":"tag-usc-quarterback","27":"tag-yard"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115623325733425556","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=408997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408997\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/408998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}