Latest from USC coach Lincoln Riley does not indicate lack of trust in Jayden Maiava

For some, the latest words of USC coach Lincoln Riley could be seen as a slight or lack of confidence in Jayden Maiava. This could not be further from the truth.

While it is true that a pattern of multiple bad series would see Maiava benched for Husan Longstreet, Maiava is still the Trojan starter. Instead, this is more about the faith and trust that coach Riley has in all of his options in the QB room at the moment.

For Longstreet in particular, he knows how talented and how much potential the quarterback has.

Plan A is for USC to achieve its goals on the football field and reach great heights in 2025 with Maiava. Throughout the spring, coach Riley has mentioned how comfortable he feels about the current Trojan QB situation and how much faith he has in the former UNLV quarterback to headline and run the USC offense.

Important difference regarding USC QB situation

Expressing the desire to ultimately see Longstreet play and even potentially have him have a couple of gadget plays or off-speed looks for the defense is completely separate from not having the utmost confidence in Maiava. Perhaps it is the time of the year. With football actually being close, the long time away from the games can make it so that people will look too much into something that should be a non-issue.

Maiava is the starter. There is, of course, a limit. He, as well as all USC fans, knows that too many interceptions too soon will soon see him on the bench. That needs to first take place before going too much further. As long as Maiava does what he is capable of and avoids the big mistakes, he will help provide a pivotal part in the Trojans' success this season.