Kirby Smart sent out his infamous “Go Dawgs!!” about 30 minutes before the National Championship game on Monday night. The new Bulldog wasn’t a commit from the Class of 2024 or 2025. Instead, former UNLV quarterback Jayden Maiava transferred to Georgia. Here is everything you need to know about Georgia’s newest quarterback.
Go Dawgs !!
— Coach Kirby Smart (@KirbySmartUGA) January 9, 2024
Jayden Maiava’s Career at UNLV
Maiva is a redshirt freshman out of Honolulu. In his first year as the starter for the Rebels, he threw for 3,085 yards and 17 touchdowns. He also rushed for 277 yards and scored three touchdowns. The Moutain West Freshman of the Year came off the bench in Week 3 to lead UNLV over the Commodores. He was 7-2 as a starter for the Rebels. His former coach Barry Odom nicknamed Maiva “Mr. Stoic” during the season, a sentiment echoed by his teammate Slot Receiver Jacob De Jesus before the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. “He’s a confident kid,” De Jesus says. “He’s just a very confident player and also poised. He stays calm in big moments, which is good to see. He’s made a lot of clutch plays this season.”
Georgia’s Adds to Its Quarterback Room
Maiava looks to provide experienced depth to the Georgia quarterback room in 2024. Carson Beck will return as the starter in 2024 after biding his time before taking the starting role this year. Beck was elite in the first year, throwing for almost 4,000 yards (3,9410) and 24 touchdowns with just six interceptions. Georgia’s 2024 quarterback room took shape shortly after the end of the regular season.
First, backup quarterback Brock Vandagriff announced he was transferring to Kentucky. Vandagriff competed with Beck throughout the Spring for the starting role but could not unseat him. Georgia’s quarterback room also took a hit when Dylan Raiola announced just before the early signing day that he was decommitting from Georiga and signing with Nebraska instead.
Maiva will compete with redshirt sophomore Gunner Stockton and incoming freshman Ryan Puglisi to back up Beck in 2024. Stockton saw limited action this season but looked sharp in Georgia’s win over Flordia State in the Orange Bowl. The four-star quarterback out of Tiger (GA.) was the #2 dual-threat quarterback in the Class of 2021. Puglisi is a four-star quarterback from Old Avon Farms (CT.). The multi-sport athlete garnered plenty of adoration for Dawg Nation when he signed his letter of intent on the day Raiola announced for Nebraska.
