Georgia is back down to three quarterbacks.
After announcing his intention to transfer to Georgia on Monday, Jayden Maiava has changed his mind according to a report from ESPN late Tuesday. According to the report, citing his father, William Maiava-Pratt, he will transfer to USC.
A redshirt freshman from UNLV, Maiava was to be the fourth scholarship quarterback on Georgia’s roster, something coach Kirby Smart said the team desperately needed when looking forward to the 2024 season. Maiava was to join rising senior Carson Beck, sophomore Gunner Stockton and freshman early-enrollee Ryan Puglisi in the Bulldogs’ quarterback group. Maiava was expected to enroll immediately.
For UNLV last season, the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Maiava passed for 3,085 yards and 17 touchdowns and added another 277 yards rushing and three more scores. He threw 10 interceptions. Maiva is a resident of Honolulu, Hawaii, where was a 3-star prospect at Kaimuku High School. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining.
Georgia’s starting job is occupied by Beck, who threw for 3,941 yards and 24 touchdowns in his first season as the Bulldogs’ starter. In December, Beck decided to play a fifth season of college football rather than test the NFL draft. Smart hinted during Orange Bowl preparations that the Bulldogs would be looking to land another quarterback via the transfer portal.
“Our hard number is four,” he said of scholarship quarterbacks on the roster. “We want to be at four, and we’re not at four. So, again, we’ll look at our options and see what we can do there. We would like to be at four; that’s our goal.”
