Before hed ever played the position, Jayden Maiava had a sense of what a Samoan quarterback could mean to his community. Growing up in Oahus Palolo Valley in a big Samoan family, hed felt that power firsthand. Like so many other boys his age on the islands, he watched Marcus Mariota at Oregon and Tua Tagovailoa at Alabama with a sense of awe and wonder. He watched as the whole of Hawaii seemed to galvanize around them and boys emulated them, promising their friends they would be the next Marcus or Tua someday.
Maiava, at the time, had never been so bold as to envision a similar path for himself. Playing football had always been a foregone conclusion, but hed never really considered playing quarterback. In his own family, where football roots ran generations deep, no one had ever tried the position. Most had settled along the defensive or offensive fronts, where Polynesian prospects were so often penciled in. Plus, Maiava was a quiet kid not the type youd first expect to welcome the pressure of the position.
But one day, soon after his family moved from Hawaii to Las Vegas, his new youth football team was in need of a quarterback. Uriah Moenoa, a former Hawaii offensive lineman who Maiava calls uncle, was helping coach the team. Moenoa expected, with his size and athleticism, that the seventh grader would gravitate to defense. Until someone asked if anyone could throw, and Maiava raised his hand.
Hes been a quarterback pretty much ever since, Moenoa says.
Now that shy Samoan boy who watched Marcus and Tua captivate the Samoan community is poised to step into a place of similar cultural significance. When he takes the field Saturday against Nebraska, hell become the first passer of Polynesian descent to start a game at quarterback for USC.
The weight of that history at a school known both for its wellspring of quarterbacks and lineage of Polynesian stars hasnt been lost on Maiava, who called it a blessing and a privilege. The fact that hell duel with Nebraska freshman Dylan Raiola, another quarterback of Polynesian descent, only adds to the special moment.
Its big shoes for me to fill, Maiava said. But I think, with the great team we have, the great players, great coaches we have, it takes a lot off. It makes my job easier.
Consider the rest thats at stake Saturday, with USCs hopes of bowl eligibility hanging by a thread, and you might wonder if that weight would be too much to shoulder for a young quarterback still finding his way. But teammates and coaches say theyve seen Maiava step seamlessly into that spotlight since being named the starter during USCs bye last week.
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Hes been way more confident, said wideout Makai Lemon.
Hes been putting his heart out there, added offensive lineman Emmanuel Pregnon.
That certainly seemed to be the case last Tuesday as Maiava strolled into a crowd of reporters with a newfound air of confidence, just 24 hours after hed been named the starter. This quarterback was not the same one that had mumbled through his first meeting with the media months earlier. It was as if, suddenly, hed found his voice.
Hows everybody doing? Maiava said for all to hear, smiling as he approached. Whys everybody so quiet?
The irony of that moment was not lost on Moenoa, whod known Maiava since he was born. Hed been on four-hour car rides to Las Vegas with Maiava where he barely spoke a word.
That was how Moenoa had always known Maiava to be as one of eight siblings on the island. Hed always been quiet and quick to defer to others around him.
In Samoan culture, you never talk out of turn, Moenoa said. You never overtalk. You never boast. You just do your thing.
But football had a way of bringing Maiava out of his shell. Quiet as he was off the field, Maiava had never shied away from contact on it. He was big and physical at a young age, but he was less sure quarterback was the right fit.
At first, I didnt want to play the position, Maiava said this week. I didnt think I had what it took to play the position, honestly. But [family members] really pushed me and told me I could do it. As long as I put my mind to it, the rest would take care of itself.
It wouldnt be long before he started to believe. Maiava recalls one particular game against national power Bishop Gorman during his freshman year at Sierra Vista High as the moment it dawned on him that he could hang at quarterback.
Read more: Jayden Maiava has the tools and training to be USC’s quarterback of the future
Moenoa never doubted Maiava had the tools. Anyone could see that just looking at him. But that one season at Sierra Vista, he watched Maiava assert himself in a way he never had before.
As a freshman, he took command of the team, Moenoa said. He had a lot of seniors on that O-line, but he really took command and everyone listened. As an uncle, I was proud watching him.
Maiava would never get long to set his feet as a quarterback after that. He bounced between three high schools in two states before taking the reins as a freshman at Nevada Las Vegas last season. When he transferred to USC this past January, he stepped into a locker room that already had an entrenched leader at quarterback in Miller Moss.
Maiava was slow, at first, to warm up.
He was new, running back Woody Marks said, so he really didnt feel ready to open up.
But that would come in time. By last Monday, when Lincoln Riley called him into his office to tell him he was the new starter, his teammates had already come to count on his steady demeanor.
Hes just a guy who puts his head down and works every day, wideout Kyle Ford said. “Hes not really worried about the end outcome all the time. Hes worried about the process and how he can get better every day, and I think thats what hes done to put himself in position.
Stepping in as the starting quarterback, Maiava knew that he would have to be more vocal. But it wasnt in his nature to announce himself as such, either.
Its just a matter of being present for them, letting me know Im here for them, Maiava said. Ive got my teammates’ back.
For now, thats all hes worried about. He has tried to set aside the significance of Saturday, training his focus instead on his preparation.
I know hes hearing it, and hes feeling it, Moenoa said. The message is still the same. Do what you need to do. Drown out the noise, focus on the task at hand.
But for those who have watched his progress firsthand, its hard not to imagine what it would mean for a Samoan quarterback to become a star at USC.
Maybe, safety Akili Arnold wondered, he would even inspire other Polynesian football players to not shy away from being that guy.
Now that Jayden is the first one at USC, Arnold said, it opens a lot of eyes for us.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.