Lincoln Riley admiring how Jayden Maiava guides USC’s offense

LOS ANGELES — After leading the Big Ten in total offense, and passing yards per game last season, the quarterback continues to impress his head coach with the way he executes.

USC is midway through spring ball, and Jayden Maiava has pretty much picked up where he left off in Lincoln Riley’s eyes. From the intensity Maiava brings to every practice, and how the rest of the players build off his energy, Riley believes the Trojans are ahead of schedule on offense.

Although All-American wideout Makai Lemon, and Ja’Kobi Lane are off to the NFL, Maiava is building chemistry with the new weapons in his arsenal, and Riley feels confident that the wheels will keep rolling.

“Overall he’s having a fantastic spring, he’s been much better than he has been in any practice period that we’ve had,” Riley said. “His comfort level, combined with having to do it with a lot of new skill guys, and to be able to come out, produce and be consistent like he’s been the entire spring, he hasn’t had any bad days.”

The Hawaii native started all 13 games last year, scored 30 total touchdowns and led USC to a 9-3 regular season. Not to mention Maiava ranked 13th nationally in passing efficiency, and earned third-team, All-Big Ten honors. However, Riley feels Maiava is only starting to crack the surface of his potential.

There’s still plenty of room for growth this spring, so Riley wants to increase Maiava’s completion percentage, and his accuracy on the deep balls. Maiava already has knowledge of the playbook, and he’s a natural at orchestrating the system, but what impresses Riley is how everyone is gravitating towards him.

“He’s taking care of the ball, he’s commanding, and I think he’s confident in leading,” he said. “It’s kind of growing like his game, it’s like right in sync with his game.”

That’s saying a lot coming from one of the nation’s best quarterback whisperers. After all, Riley has coached three gunslingers that won the Heisman. Maiava is already generating some offseason Heisman buzz, and will be one of the favorites heading into the fall.

Last year USC led the Big Ten, and finished ninth nationally in total offense. It’s mind-boggling that the Trojans could be even better on offense in 2026, especially the aerial attack. Wide receiver Tanook Hines returns after a promising true freshman campaign. Newcomer Terrell Anderson is turning heads in practice, after coming off two productive seasons at NC State.

Despite the loss of Lake McRee and Walker Lyons, the tight ends are providing a spark in practice too, and will have a lot of involvement with the passing production. As for now, Riley expects Maiava to work on the mechanics, polish his footwork and have a faster release. All eyes are going to be on Maiava for the upcoming season, and with the way the signal-caller has the pedal to the metal this spring, Riley knows there’s no limit to what the offense can accomplish.

“Just more confidence, more personality, more swagger, more attitude, and our team feed off that , and he’s been like that all spring.”