USC Quarterback Jayden Maiava Operating With New Urgency in Pivotal Season

Quarterback Jayden Maiava is back at USC for one final season. But gone are four of his top five pass-catchers from a year ago, which includes Biletnikoff Award winner Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane, who has been a training camp star with the Baltimore Ravens.

Maiava is not just operating with almost an entirely new set of weapons, but a very young group that features six freshmen receivers — Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, Trent Mosley, Boobie Feaster, Tron Baker, Luc Weaver and Roderick Tezeno and a five-star freshman tight end in Mark Bowman from their No. 1 class in the 2026 cycle.

USC Trojans Lincoln Riley Fall Camp Jayden Maiava Tanook Hines Trent Mosley Kayden Dixon-Wyatt Mark Bowman Transfer Big Ten — 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 | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Junior receiver Terrell Anderson comes over NC State and redshirt junior tight end Tucker Ashcraft comes over from Wisconsin via the portal. From the moment the new players arrived at the beginning of the year, Maiava has invested heavily into bringing them along quickly.

“Jayden’s done so much with these guys. He did a little retreat with these guys in June,” said inside receivers/tight end coach Chad Savage. “They were out there hanging out in a little villa, throwing the football around. To build that chemistry with the guys off the field is important too.”

Maiava is entering his third season under Lincoln Riley. He knows what the Trojans head coach wants, has a great understanding of the scheme and the expectations of playing in Riley's offense. Having someone like Maiava has been one of the advantages when breaking in a new set of pass-catchers.

In what is expected to be one of the deepest and most talented quarterback classes in draft history come next April, Maiava is looking to cement himself as one of the top signal-callers. That part will take care of itself based on what Maiava does this fall.

Returning Production for Jayden Maiava

The redshirt senior quarterback got a boost on Tuesday with the return of sophomore receiver Tanook Hines, who missed the entire spring and remained out to start fall camp. Hines is the only returning player that caught more than three passes from Maiava in 2025.

Hines exploded at end of last season, recording 335 receiving yards over the final three games. Now it’s about building off of that late season success.

“It’s been huge. We’ve done our own walk-thru’s together, one-on-one,” Maiava said. “Just catching him up on anything he needs to get caught up on, continuing to feed that chemistry, sky’s the limit.”

Redshirt sophomore receiver Zacharyus Williams transferred from Utah to USC last spring, but a significant upper body injury cost him two and half months of the season. He went through spring practice this year and almost a year later, Williams is more comfortable in the Trojans offense and working with Maiava.

Sophomore receiver Corey Simms has been one of the biggest winners of fall camp. He played just 22 offensive snaps last year but saw action in all 13 games a special teamer. With that, his confidence and feel for Big Ten football have improved dramatically. Redshirt freshman tight end Nela Tupou caught two passes in the bowl game from Maiava in his first significant playing time in 2025.

Jayden Maiava Takes Command of the Team

Maiava is naturally a soft spoken person. That part of him isn’t going to change.

He did start to use more of his voice in his first season as a starter in 2025 but the consensus amongst players is that he’s taken it to another level heading into this season.

“Vocally, you can feel his presence on and off the field, really stepping up as a player and as a brother in the locker room as well,” Williams said.

This is Maiava’s football team. There’s no quarterback competition or controversy. Maiava is the undisputed leader and the 2026 USC Trojans fall on his shoulders and he’s moved as such.

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