The University of Nevada, Las Vegas transfer QB Jayden Maiava announced his commitment to Georgia on Monday, bringing experience and athleticism to the Bulldogs roster.
As a redshirt freshman in 2023, Maiava started 11 games at quarterback and led UNLV to the team’s second winning season since 2000 and the first trip in the Mountain West Championship Game in program history.
Maiava took the reins of the UNLV offense during the team’s week three matchup with Vanderbilt when he came off of the bench to replace injured starting quarterback Doug Brumfield. The Las Vegas native led the Rebels to a thrilling 40-37 victory over the Commodores, despite trailing 17-0 at the start of the game. He threw for 261 yards and two touchdowns in the game. Maiava concluded the season with 3,085 throwing yards with 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
At 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, Maiava brings prototypical size to Georgia’s quarterback room, and his skills as a passer were on full display during the 2023 season. He boasts a powerful arm with the ability to comfortably make passes from the opposite side, but he has also showed the ability to layer the ball into tricky windows with great touch.
As an 11-game starter, he also quickly becomes Georgia’s second-most experienced quarterback behind only Carson Beck who, himself, has only started three more games than Maiava has. Florida State’s recent experience of being excluded from the College Football Playoff after starting quarterback Jordan Travis suffered a season-ending injury late in the 2023 season has provided a stark lesson on the necessity of having a capable and effective backup option at quarterback and Maiava’s presence on the Georgia roster helps potentially insulate the Bulldogs from suffering a similar fate to that of Florida State suffered in this year’s Orange Bowl game.
Maiava is a gifted thrower who brought in 3,000 yards of throwing in his first season as a starter. He also gives Georgia’s quarterback room a significant boost in terms of athleticism. Maiava led offensive coordinator Brennan Marion’s one-of-a-kind “Go-Go offense” at UNLV, which can be thought of as a cross between traditional triple-option strategies and modern-day spread offense concepts. Maiava was used as a running threat on a large number of UNLV’s run plays.
While he does not possess Anthony Richardson or Jayden Daniels-level athleticism, Maiava was an effective runner for the Rebels and consistently demonstrated strong pocket mobility. In total, he amassed 277 yards rushing with three rushing touchdowns on the season.
While Maiava brings experience and potential to the Georgia roster, he is still very much an unfinished product. The talent is obvious and substantial, but the young quarterback still needs to add polish to various aspects of his game.
At times during the 2023 season, Maiava would unnecessarily force the ball into tight windows, as evidenced by the 10 interceptions he threw in the 11 games that he started, and put his team in tough situations. His footwork and fundamentals also tend to degrade under pressure, which results in misdirected throws and mistakes, as is the case with most inexperienced quarterbacks.
After overseeing UNLV’s distinct “Go-Go offense,” Maiava will need time to establish Georgia’s more conventional offensive scheme.Fortunately for the Bulldogs, with Carson Beck returning for the 2024 season, Maiava will have the luxury of apprenticing under one of the nation’s top quarterbacks in preparation for the competition that is to come at Georgia’s quarterback position heading into the 2025 season.