ATHENS, Ga. — Kirby Smart has added a fourth scholarship quarterback to Georgia's roster.
Jayden Maiava has committed to the Bulldogs. He spent the previous two seasons at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV).
During a Signing Day press conference in December, Smart expressed his preference to add a fourth scholarship signal caller.
"That's something we have to think long and hard about," Smart said. "Our hard number is four. 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, but that's our goal."
Maiava emerged as one of the top targets. He recently took visits to Georgia and USC.
“This is Georgia we’re talking about, we’re not talking about some average school, right?” said Dave Uiagalelei, whose company helps provide opportunities for Hawaiian and Polynesian athletes. “We’re talking about a Power 5, back-to-back National Championship school, so for any kid coming from Hawaii, and then from UNLV to Georgia, he was just delighted to come and meet the coaches. He could not believe they wanted to recruit him.”
In 2023 for UNLV, Maiava completed 224 of his 353 pass attempts for 3,085 yards with 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He helped lead the Rebels to a Mountain West Championship Game appearance and a spot in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl against Kansas.
Maiava joins a quarterback room featuring incumbent starters Carson Beck, Gunner Stockton, and Ryan Puglisi. Beck's return means Maiava will not be starting in 2024. That fact was not lost on Maiava during his recruitment as he evaluated his options.
"I think if there is a difference (between Georgia and Southern Cal), Jayden has a better chance of starting at USC (this fall) than at Georgia,” Uiagalelei recently told UGASports. “I’m sorry. You’re not going to start over that guy (Beck) at Georgia, you’ll be playing backup. That kid is amazing, what he did this year.”
Maiava still chose to head to Georgia to be developed and compete for the starting job down the line.
