How Jayden Maiava remained ready to seize the USC quarterback job

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava gets set to pass during a game against Utah State in September. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

The competition was close. Closer than anyone expected it to be in late August, at least. Close enough that Jayden Maiava, the insurgent transfer from Nevada Las Vegas, believed at the time that he’d done enough to be named USC’s starting quarterback.

The job ultimately went to Miller Moss, the redshirt junior whose six-score coronation had come months earlier at the Holiday Bowl. Maiava had understood in that case the uphill battle he faced in coming to L.A. But the decision, while no surprise to the public, was no less disappointing to Maiava.

He was competitive. He thought he’d made the best of his reps. Now there was no way of knowing when they’d come again.

“Most backups at that moment would get frustrated with the process,” said Ryan Porter, Maiava’s quarterbacks coach. “They wouldn’t be as dedicated or proactive. They lose focus.”

Read more: USC benches 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’s the best thing that could have happened to Maiava, who this week was named the Trojans’ new starter.

“This kid got to go in, do spring football, do the first nine games and learn,” Porter said. “Learn from all the mistakes that were made, learn from all the success that was had, learn the good and the bad. He got to sit back and learn a system from a great coaching staff and a great quarterback room, and you can’t ask for a better situation, in my opinion.”

Maiava agrees: “It’s been phenomenal for me,” he said Wednesday, “just learning a lot from the game.”

That’s not to say sitting for most of the season, while USC lost four of its…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/jayden-maiava-remained-ready-seize-120040008.html

Author : LA Times

Publish date : 2024-11-07 12:00:40

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