Lincoln Riley reveals decision behind USC quarterback switch: 'Excited for Jayden to get this opportunity'
USC head coach Lincoln Riley confirmed Tuesday that the Trojans will elevate backup quarterback Jayden Maiava to the starting role during this bye week and going into the upcoming game against Nebraska, replacing Miller Moss. Riley spoke to the media about the decision following practice.
“We have two good players in the room and when we went back and looked at it we felt it was in the best interest of the team to give Jayden a chance,” Riley said. “It’s that simple.”
Riley said he was understanding of the spotlight that gets shone on the quarterback position when a move like this is made, but it’s no different than what they’ve done at every position throughout the season — evaluating who should play by who gives the team the best opportunity to win.
Moss was completing 64.4% of his passes this season for 2,555 yards and 18 touchdowns. But he’d thrown nine interceptions, with eight of those coming in USC’s losses. And an interception in each of those five losses significantly impacted the Trrojans’ chances of winning.
“He’s improved throughout the year,” Riley said of Maiava. “He improved in camp and he’s continued to improve. It’s not easy being the backup and I feel like he’s handled that well. He’s improved every single week. I think he’s learned a lot from having a guy like Miller in the room…He’s put together some really good practices. He’s a talented kid…We’re obviously excited for Jayden to get this opportunity.”
Maiava opened last year as the backup at UNLV before an injury thrust him into the starting role. He finished the season having completed 63.5% of his passes for 3,085 yards and 17 touchdowns against 10 interceptions. He entered the transfer portal this offseason and originally committed to Georgia before flipping a short time later to USC.
Riley wasn’t going to get into anything about what Maiava might bring to the position that may have been missing previously, adding that the skill sets of Maiava and Moss “are not all that different.”
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“I don’t anticipate changing a lot offensively,” Riley said. “It’s not like we’re going to all of a sudden break out some new offense. I’m excited for him to run our system.”
USC enters this bye week with a disappointing five losses this season but Riley said this wasn’t about looking toward the future and the 2025 season. He said he feels like he owes it to Jonah Monheim and other USC seniors to finish out this season on a positive note.
Riley made sure to compliment the work Moss did as the starter through nine games this season. He said it was a tough call and difficult to deliver the news to Moss.
“I want to say, Miller Moss has done a really good job for us,” Riley said. “You could literally not change one thing that Miller has done and we could be sitting here with a really, really good record right now. Miller has done a very good job. He’s been a really good leader for this team. He’s been loyal to this program. He’s worked hard and he has done a lot of really good things on the football field. This is not anything more than, we have another good player in the room and we feel like he gives us a good opportunity. And we felt when we went back and evaluated that this was the best thing for the team.”
