USC Head Coach Lincoln Riley Reveals Key To QB Jayden Maiava’s Growth

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava has been one of the best quarterbacks in college football to open the 2025 season, and it’s a dramatic improvement from his 2024 play. 

Maiava already has more passing yards (1,223) than he did in 2024 in 3 less games and 73 less passing attempts. He also has four rushing touchdowns, which matches last season’s total. To sweeten the deal even further, he has thrown no interceptions; he threw 6 last season. 

But beyond the box score, Maiava looks the part of an elite quarterback. His strong arm, confident decision making and calm pocket presence have been key to leading USC to a 4-0 start. 

Basically, he has improved so much that he looks like a completely different quarterback. Many USC fans and college football fans across the country have praised Lincoln Riley for how much he has developed Jayden Maiava in a single offseason. 

But Riley wants to make sure fans are also giving plenty of credit to Maiava. In an interview on the Trojans Live show Monday September 22, 2025, Riley said that Maiava’s humility and coachability are big reasons for his success. 

“He did a really good job after the end of the season of just really taking an honest look at what he did well and what he’s gotta do better and then just really put his head down and just owned the things he knew he had to be better at and that we put in front of him,” Riley said. He’s incredibly coachable…his humility is a strength.” 

Riley went on to say that some quarterbacks are so hard-headed that they become less coachable, which is why Maiava’s humility is so crucial. 

National Media Finally Picks Up on Maiava’s Play 

Despite Jayden Maiava’s incredible play throughout the first few weeks of the college football season, he and the Trojans have not got much recognition from the national media. 

But they got a big endorsement from famous sports pundit Colin Cowherd on Tuesday September 3, 2025. 

“This kid last year was reckless and out of control, he looks unbelievable!” Cowherd said on his show The Herd about Maiava. “This kid has cleaned up his entire game. Again, last year he was young, he was reckless, he kind of played out of control, I didn’t think he was very good between the hash marks. He is making big time throws and great decisions.” 

Cowherd is a fan of USC, so he watches Trojans games closer than most national media members. 

Fans of other teams may see his Maiava hype as USC bias, but to be fair, he made sure to admit he didn’t think Maiava was very good last year. 

The Unsung Hero In Maiava’s Development

One person who is likely somewhat responsible for Maiava’s stellar season but has not gotten a lot of credit for it is USC’s quarterbacks coach Luke Huard. 

Huard has been with the USC coaching staff since 2022, but just became the QB coach for USC in 2024. 

Interestingly, Huard’s nephew Sam is also USC’s third string quarterback. 

Fans often overlook position coaches, but they have a very direct impact on players. So in addition to Lincoln Riley and Jayden Maiava, USC fans should be singing the praises of Luke Huard. 

Trojan fans, do you think the pairing of Lincoln Riley and Jayden Maiava will propel USC to new heights in 2025? 

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