Underrated factors could see Jayden Maiava climb the Big Ten QB rankings

Thinking back to the end of last season, not too many USC fans would be overly enthusiastic over the prospect of Jayden Maiava leading the Trojan offense in 2025. While the quarterback has been on the receiving end of a lot of criticism, he did lead the team as the starter to a 3-1 record and kept the game closely within range against the national runner-ups in Notre Dame.

Now looking across the landscape of the state of Big Ten quarterbacks, the QB position in Troy could actually end up being one of the more secure situations in the conference.

In terms of the top two options who have BIG experience, Drew Allar and Luke Altmyer are receiving a lot of the preseason hype and headlines. Nico Iamaleava is certainly someone who has potential, but it remains to be seen if he can play at the same level as was witnessed in Tennessee now that he is with UCLA.

After that there are significantly more questions at quarterback throughout the Big Ten. Dylan Raiola is hoping to lead Nebraska after a full year as the starter as a freshman.

Fernando Mendoza, Dante Moore, Julian Sayin, and Bryce Underwood simply do not have experience or a successful sample size as starters in this conference. While anyone at the Division I level will have talent, talent is only potential. Directly experiencing the challenges that the BIG presents and appearing to be a good option on paper are often two entirely different things.

Ability and potential for USC QB

With this in mind, Maiava is actually being overlooked as a QB option who should be in conversations as one of the better QBs in the conference.

USC fans saw him lead the team to a winning record down the stretch, and he is going to enjoy the aspect of throwing to Makai Lemon and Ja'Kobi Lane after a full offseason together. As things stand now, Maiava is not being considered a top option in the BIG despite playing in coach Lincoln Riley's system for a second year and as the full-time starter. Look for him to catch people off guard this season as USC's QB1.