What Transfer QB Brings to Georgia

While Georgia did not lose any established starters during the transfer portal cycle in December, the portal did deplete the Bulldog roster of depth at several important positions.

Georgia, on the other hand, bolstered its depth at possibly the sport’s most vital position on Monday by adding transfer quarterback Jayden Maiava to its 2024 roster, bolstering the Bulldogs’ quarterback room with valuable experience and athleticism. Maiava started 11 games at quarterback as a redshirt freshman in 2023, leading UNLV to its second winning season since 2000 and its first berth in the Mountain West Championship Game.

Maiava took over the UNLV offense during the team’s Week 3 game against Vanderbilt, coming off the bench to replace injured starting quarterback Doug Brumfield. The Las Vegas native entered the game with his side losing 17-0 in the second quarter and soon guided the Rebels to a stunning 40-37 victory over the Commodores, passing for 261 yards and scoring twice.

Maiava had 3,085 throwing yards, 17 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions on the season. Maiava provides prototypical size to Georgia’s quarterback room at 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, and his passing skills were on full display during the 2023 season. He has a powerful arm and the ability to finish passes from the opposite hash with ease, but he has also shown the ability to layer the ball into difficult windows with great touch.

As an 11-game starter, he becomes Georgia’s second-most experienced quarterback, trailing only Carson Beck, who has only started three more games than Maiava.

Florida State’s recent exclusion from the College Football Playoff after starting quarterback Jordan Travis suffered a season-ending injury late in the 2023 season has served as a stark reminder of the importance of having a capable and effective backup quarterback option, and Maiava’s presence on the Georgia roster helps potentially insulate the Bulldogs from a similar fate as Florida State in this year’s Orange Bowl game.

Maiava is a great passer with a 3,000-yard passing season under his belt in his first year as a starter, but he also adds more than a dash of athleticism to Georgia’s quarterback room. Maiava ran offensive coordinator Brennan Marion’s unique “Go-Go offense” at UNLV, which may be regarded as a hybrid of prior triple-option offenses with modern-day spread offense elements. Maiava was a run threat on a large proportion of UNLV’s run plays in that offense.

While he lacks the athleticism of Anthony Richardson or Jayden Daniels, Maiava was an efficient runner for the Rebels and consistently exhibited strong pocket mobility. In total, he rushed for 277 yards and three touchdowns this season.

While Maiava brings experience and potential to the Georgia roster, he is still a work in progress. The skill is undeniable, but the young quarterback still has to work on several parts of his game. During the 2023 season, Maiava would force the ball into tight windows excessively, as proven by the 10 interceptions he threw in the 11 games he started, and placed his team in difficult situations.

His footwork and fundamentals, as with most rookie quarterbacks, suffer when he is pressurized, leading to inaccurate throws and mistakes. After leading UNLV’s one-of-a-kind “Go-Go offense,” Maiava will need time to establish Georgia’s more pro-style offensive system. Fortunately for the Bulldogs, with Carson Beck returning for the 2024 season, Maiava will have the opportunity to learn from one of the nation’s top quarterbacks in preparation for the competition that awaits Georgia’s quarterback position in the 2025 season.