Maiava to Start: What It Means for USC

Tyler Stearns |

Jayden Maiava was named USC's starting QB this morning after Miller Moss's three-interception performance versus Washington on Saturday. Moss threw two touchdowns to go along with his three turnovers, both of which came in the third quarter of the game. He threw 50 passes, a tally that is unlike a traditional Lincoln Riley offense. Fans have called for Moss to be benched since the Minnesota game, as he often is at fault for limiting the offense's playbook. Let's take a look at what Maiava offers.

Jayden Maiava, Via LA Times

First of all, it is worth noting that Moss was nothing like a traditional Riley QB. Every single one of his signal callers has had mobility, athleticism, and a strong arm. And Moss is none of those things. As we saw against the Huskies, he was relatively unable to get the ball downfield consistently, meaning the ball would barely travel past thirty to forty yards downfield. He also limits Riley's playbook, as traditionally he likes to incorporate a read option into his scheme which he is unable to do with Moss. That's why he chose to bench him.

Maiava came in as a transfer from UNLV after a strong freshman season. Riley viewed him as a project, as a player who would need some time to develop into his system. This is because Maiava played in the Rebels' go-go scheme, which meant that the quarterback only ever had to look at his first read or pull the ball on a read option. But Riley looked at his tape and noticed his speed, escapability in the pocket, and arm strength, all of which were necessary tools in USC's attack.

Maiava has had a lot of time to learn and grow in this system. After spring ball, fall ball, and now nine games into the season, there isn't an excuse for him not to know the playbook. He has two weeks until his first game against Nebraska, and Riley will try to make it easy on him. As we have seen in his stints against Utah State and Rutgers, he is great at the read option and has exceptional speed. He is also a very tall QB. We haven't seen too much USC passing tape, but he looks comfortable in the schemes so far. Riley will try to incorporate the same stuff into the first half of the game versus Nebraska. That means USC fans should expect to see a lot of designed runs, screens, and short first-read passes on RPOs or quick dropbacks. In the second half, after a chat with the offense, we should expect Riley to break open the playbook with some deep passes to Branch, Lane, and Lemon. USC needs to reinvigorate the fire not only in the offense but in the program as a whole. A 4-5 record after defeating 13th-ranked LSU in Vegas is unacceptable, especially after realizing that all five losses have come in a total of 19 points. With better QB play, USC would have beat Minnesota, Maryland, and Washington. Penn State and Michigan were due to coaching errors, and you could argue the others were too, but a better QB would have made up for those mistakes. Nonetheless, USC fans should be excited about their new dual-threat QB.