USC Quarterback Jayden Maiava's Potential Path as NFL Draft Prospect

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava is operating with urgency. The redshirt senior signal-caller elected to bypass the 2026 NFL Draft, one with a particularly weak quarterback class, and return to school. Now, he has one last opportunity to make an impression on NFL decision makers.

Heading into the fall, the 2027 NFL Draft quarterback class projects to be one of the best this century with players such as Texas’ Arch Manning, Notre Dame’s CJ Carr, Oregon’s Dante Moore, South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers and Ohio State’s Julian Sayin, just to name a few.

USC Trojans Lincoln Riley Jayden Maiava NFL Draft Arch Manning CJ Carr Julian Sayin Dante Moore Oregon Ohio State Notre Dame — Nov 22, 2025; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Southern California Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) warms up before the game against the Oregon Ducks at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

For Maiava, the formula to catapult his name into the conversation as one of the top quarterbacks in next year's draft is simple, win and play at an elite level. Current Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward was nowhere near the top of draft boards heading into his redshirt senior season at Miami. Ward was sensational, and the Titans selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 draft.

Fernando Mendoza led Indiana to an improbable season for the ages, a perfect 16-0 record and the school's first-ever national championship, claiming the Heisman Trophy in the process this past season. The Las Vegas Raiders selected the redshirt senior with the No. 1 overall pick in last month’s NFL draft. Mendoza followed the same path as former LSU quarterback Joe Burrow six years ago.

Burrow was a mid-round pick at best going into his redshirt senior season in 2019 and produced arguably the greatest season ever for a college quarterback for the greatest team in college football history. The Tigers were tested every week and Burrow delivered, winning a national championship and the Heisman Trophy. The Cincinnati Bengals made him the No. 1 overall pick in 2020.

Kyler Murray was expected to go play baseball after being selected ninth overall by the Oakland A's. Instead, he turned in a Heisman Trophy winning season himself in his lone season as the starting quarterback under Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma in 2018 and went on to be the No. 1 overall pick the following draft by the Arizona Cardinals.

Going into their final season, numerous quarterbacks were mentioned before the four aforementioned signal-callers. However, they let their play speak for itself and the rest fell in line. Maiava doesn't need to sit atop the quarterback rankings in May, especially when next year's draft is still 11 months away. Almost every year there's a quarterback that comes out of nowhere and skyrockets up draft boards. Could that be Maiava in 2027?

Taking Command of the Team

Entering the 2026 season, this is Maiava's team, there is no question about that. The former UNLV transfer enters his third season with the program and second as the full-time starter. Another offseason to work with Riley, a quarterback whisper. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Maiava has started 31 career games, so there's not much at the collegiate level that he hasn't seen before.

Maiava made tremendous strides from the four games he started at the end of the 2024 season, to where he was in 2025, ranking first the country in QBR, leading the Big Ten in passing yards and becoming a much more accurate passer. Maiava grew as a leader and has continued to build upon that this spring.

“Jayden earned the respect of this team pretty early on here because of the way that he worked," said offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Luke Huard. "His first nine games as a Trojan, he was in a backup role but had an incredible team first attitude. He's really earned the respect of the team pretty quickly here, and then as he's performed well, even more so. I think for him, just understanding that, ‘All right, this is the last ride. This is my team.’ The cool thing about Jayden is his interactions don't go to just one small part of the team. He has the ability to spread himself out.

"He's not the loudest guy in the world but he has a very specific and cool kind of leadership, feel and mentality about him, and he really does a good job of just spreading himself out through the whole course of the team, offense, defense and special teams. You can always see him encouraging guys in all phases, whether they're freshmen or they've been here for four or five years. I think he's just found a really neat kind of sweet spot with his voice continuing to work and be a tremendous example day in and day out, how you go about your business," Huard continued.

Maiava is working with a whole new group of pass-catchers in 2026, which includes a talented group of freshmen at wide receiver and tight end that can make an immediate impact in the fall.

"Just a true leader investing the time to develop that chemistry with some of those skilled players," said inside receivers/tight ends coach Chad Savage. "He's a guy that's been in the offense for multiple years, so he knows coach Riley thinks, how coach Riley calls the games. He has a good understanding of our scheme, run game and pass game, so he does a good job of putting his arm around guys and just developing that chemistry."

Tough Schedule Presents Golden Oppurtunity for Jayden Maiava

USC has a brutal 2026 schedule which includes matchups against Oregon, Ohio State and Indiana, three of the top five seeds in last year's College Football Playoff and project as top 10, if not top five teams when the preseason rankings are released this summer. There is also a very good chance Washington and Penn State are ranked matchups as well in early October. It's multiple matchups that will draw a large number of NFL scouts.

For Maiava and the Trojans program as a whole, it is the perfect opportunity to make a statement in front of the entire country and propel themselves back into national prominence.

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