USC’s Jayden Maiava Earns 2026 Big Ten Preseason Honors

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava kept the recognition coming on the opening morning of Big Ten Media Days, earning a spot on the 2026 Big Ten Football Preseason Honors list announced Tuesday.

Maiava was one of just 12 players conference-wide selected for the preseason recognition, joining a select group that also includes Ohio State’s Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith, Oregon’s Dante Moore and Koi Perich, and Indiana’s Charlie Becker, Rolijah Hardy and Tyrique Tucker.

The Trojans will be well-represented in Chicago. Maiava is on hand alongside defensive tackles Jide Abasiri and Alex VanSumeren and head coach Lincoln Riley as USC begins its third season in the Big Ten.

Last season the former UNLV transfer put together one of the more efficient campaigns in the country. Maiava started all 13 games, completed 265 of 403 passes (65.8 percent) for 3,711 yards and 24 touchdowns against 10 interceptions, and added 157 rushing yards and six scores on the ground. His 91.2 QBR led the nation. He also recorded a tackle and a forced fumble—one of only two quarterbacks in the FBS to force a fumble in 2025—while making 31 career starts.

Those numbers earned him All-Big Ten Third Team honors from the conference coaches, Phil Steele, and the Pro Football Sports Network. Maiava was a Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award finalist, a Davey O’Brien Award semifinalist, a two-time Davey O’Brien Great 8 recipient, and a Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week. He was also recently named a nominee for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team for his work off the field.

The full 2026 Big Ten Preseason Honors list:

• WR Charlie Becker, IND

• LB Rolijah Hardy, IND

• DL Tyrique Tucker, IND

• OL Kade Pieper, IOWA

• DL Anthony Smith, MINN

• QB Julian Sayin, OSU

• WR Jeremiah Smith, OSU

• QB Dante Moore, ORE

• DB Koi Perich, ORE

• QB Jayden Maiava, USC

• WR KJ Duff, RU

• RB Antwan Raymond, RU

The Trojans open the 2026 season Saturday, Aug. 29 against San José State at 12 p.m. PT inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The game will air on NBC.