In Week 4 of college football, two QBs, Garrett Nussmeier of LSU and LaNorris Sellers of South Carolina, significantly boosted their draft stock before a single snap was taken. According to the preliminary results of a survey conducted by ESPN among 25 NFL executives and analysts, Sellers and Nussmeier are both very much in the running to be the top picks in the 2026 draft. Then Saturday came in, and both delivered, Sellers threw for 300 yards and two touchdowns against Missouri and Nussmeier dropped 273 yards and three touchdowns on his stat sheet, almost reaching 70% passing once more. But while Sellers and Nussmeier grabbed the early headlines, there’s another quarterback quietly stealing the show.

In a recent video from TheMcShayShow, Todd McShay pointed out that no one seems to be discussing USC’s quarterback, who may be the best in the nation. “Jayden Maiava is the best quarterback in the country that nobody’s talking about. You know, he’s averaging 12.7 yards per attempt,” he said. During the course of four games, Jayden Maiava has piled up 1,223 passing yards, nine touchdowns, and zero interceptions in along with four more touchdowns on the ground. That is ridiculous efficiency, and not just empty numbers. He has led USC to a 4-0 start and appears to be the next in line of Lincoln Riley‘s many quarterbacking success stories.

Maiava stands out in that Riley’s signature flying fireworks aren’t the only thing USC is using. McShay said “When you think about Lincoln Riley, you think about the passing game… but the thing that people never quite understood… is that run game set it all up.” With 693 yards at seven yards per carry this season, USC’s rushing unit has given Maiava more room and space He is completing almost 69% of his passes and has yet to turn the ball over, so the results speak for themselves. In a crucial 45-31 victory over Michigan State, he completed 20 of 26 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns, along with two more on the ground.

Only a year ago, he led the Rebels to their first conference title game appearance since the 1980s and was named Mountain West Freshman of the Year at UNLV. He briefly committed to Georgia before switching to USC, where he won the starting position in late 2024 and even defeated Texas A&M in the Las Vegas Bowl. Riley gave his full trust after that as McShay stated “I think USC’s vastly underrated. They could wind up being in the playoff picture at the end of the year. Maiava is a big reason why.” With NFL scouts already ranking him in the top ten of draft boards, it’s safe to assume the ‘most underrated quarterback in the country’ label won’t last much longer.

Unexpected performers shake up the 2026 draft board

The early storyline of the 2025 season is not only about who shines, but also about who slips up. Some quarterbacks, such as Drew Allar of Penn State and Cade Klubnik of Clemson and Arch Manning, who were hailed as first-round picks going into the season, have faltered right away. Allar has been slower than quick, and Klubnik’s 59% completion rate and three interceptions already make him appear unlikely. Due to their sluggish starts, less well-known names are now able to make an impression.

This is where players like Dante Moore of Oregon and John Mateer of Oklahoma come in. Both have made the kind of initial impression that NFL scouts find intriguing. Mateer’s risk-taking has also been evident in the interception column, but he has been fearless, stretching defenses with his arms and legs. Moore, on the other hand, appears to be a completely different quarterback than he was as a freshman; he is confident on the deep ball, quick in the short game, and rising steadily in the draft rankings. The quarterback class appears much less predictable than it did in August when you include Miami’s Carson Beck, who is subtly regaining his reputation following his struggles at Georgia.

A draft landscape in flux is the end result. While new faces are rapidly climbing, the purported “locks” have been anything but. That makes it possible for someone like Jaden Maiava from USC to interrupt the celebration. With risers like Moore and Mateer demonstrating that the board is wide open and sellers like LaNorris and Nussmeier already in the discussion, Maiava’s explosive start could be enough to push him into that top tier sooner than anyone was expecting.