This was a rollercoaster ride. On Monday night, former UNLV quarterback Jayden Maiava was seemingly transferring to Georgia in a slightly unexpected get for the Dawgs over the USC Trojans. A mere 24 hours later, he changed his mind and decided to go to Los Angeles to join Lincoln Riley.
As a redshirt freshman this past season at UNLV, Maiava threw for 3,085 yards and 17 touchdowns. He also ran for 277 yards and 3 touchdowns as well, leading UNLV to a 9-5 record. The signal-caller is listed at 6-foot-3 and 227 pounds.
Maiava is from Honolulu, Hawaii. He has three years of eligibility left, so when Georgia got him on Monday, it seemed the Dawgs had found a significant measure of added quarterback depth. USC pushed to try and land Maiava’s services this offseason. On Monday, it seemed USC had failed. One night later, everything changed.
Georgia senior quarterback Carson Beck will be back next season. He will be the starter for the 2024 campaign. In his first year as a starter, Beck threw for 3,941 yards and 24 touchdowns. He’ll look to build off that season while also taking on a bigger leadership role.
The Bulldogs will also have Junior Gunner Stockton and true freshman Ryan Puglisi in the mix. However, Maiava gave them their most likely 2025 quarterback. Now it’s USC which will have Maiava as the likely starter for 2025. Lincoln Riley was able to convince Maiava to learn about the game at USC, not Georgia, and to wait his turn behind Miller Moss, not Carson Beck.
USC previously had only one scholarship quarterback on the roster, Miller Moss. Now the Trojans have depth and a legitimate option should anything happen to Moss in 2024. Everyone at USC can breathe a sigh of relief.
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