USC Coaches Continuing to Emphasize Key Point With Quarterback Jayden Maiava

USC Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava enters his third season with the program, and with spring practice beginning soon, there is one continued emphasis that the Trojans staff is focusing on with him.

Oct 11, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) warms up prior to the game against the Michigan Wolverines at United Airlines Field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Last offseason, USC coach Lincoln Riley and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Luke Huard put an emphasis on eliminating turnovers with quarterback Jayden Maiava, after he committed at least two turnovers in three of four starts in 2024. 

They preached the importance of Maiava turning his turnovers into throw aways and living to see another down. 

Jayden Maiava Must Overcome Turnover Tendency

Oct 11, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) warms up prior to the game against the Michigan Wolverines at United Airlines Field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Through the first four and half games of the season, it appeared that Maiava had turned the page and was headed in the right direction. 

But after throwing an interception in the third quarter of the Trojans week 5 loss to Illinois, it started a streak of five consecutive games with at least one interception. And then he threw two in each of USC’s losses to Oregon and TCU in the Alamo Bowl to close out the season. 

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Maiava did make a massive leap in his first full season as the Trojans' starting quarterback. He finished fourth in the country and first in the Big Ten in passing yards and second in the country in QBR. He led a high-octane offense that ranked eighth in the country in total offense, fourth in yards per play, and 13th in scoring offense. 

However, turnovers can swing momentum in football games instantly and the USC coaches are continuing to ingrain the importance of Maiava taking care of the ball this spring. 

Nov 29, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley (right) talks with quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) in the second half against the UCLA Bruins at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

“He made a lot of strides in that direction and when we’ve had time to meet with our players, specifically the quarterbacks, analyzing those plays we still need to close the gap on,” Huard said. “There are still some plays we call winning football plays because at the end of the day if you throw an incompletion or you throw a ball away a lot of times it’s going to help your team and it’s not necessarily going to hurt your team. We know that turnovers can certainly be pretty tough to overcome in certain moments in games."

“That’ll always be a point of emphasis for every quarterback in every system. But that’s certainly one that we’re continuing to attack and continuing to build on some of the really positive things that he did last year as far as taking care of the ball and continuing to work on those moments where we can make better decisions and move on from scenarios where we could have simply thrown it away or moved onto the next progression.”

Taking that Next Step as an Offense

Nov 22, 2025; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) handles the ball during the game against the Oregon Ducks during the first half at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

Southern Cal has a tough slate next season, which includes critical Big Ten matchups against Oregon, Washington, Penn State, Ohio State and Indiana. 

The only way USC gets through it is with Maiava taking another massive leap under the direction of Riley and Huard. But he can’t do it alone. The Trojans return all five starters on the offensive line and have created incredible depth across the front with a number of guys gaining valuable experience in 2025 and the addition of a talented freshman class. It’s not enough to just be good, that unit has to impose their will on opponents. 

Waymond Jordan and King Miller give USC a dynamic one-two punch in the backfield to run behind that veteran offensive line. But for Maiava, outside of sophomore receiver Tanook Hines, he will be working with almost an entirely new crop of pass-catchers, and the Trojans signal-caller has embraced his growing leadership role. 

“They're watching tape on their own and going through plays,” Huard said. “He's taking them out of the field and walk-thrus. He's taking a huge leadership jump from that role and understands that we got some really good, young, talented dudes that just joined our roster and we got practice here pretty soon. He's got a tremendous sense of urgency that you just feel from him right now.”