It was all good just a year ago—or so we thought. Lincoln Riley pulled up in L.A. from Norman, Oklahoma, with that Southern Cali glow hitting just right. New whip, new zip, and an 11-win season out the gate? Lincoln Riley was untouchable. Caleb Williams went nuclear. Riley looked like the quarterback whisperer with the Midas touch. Everything he touched turned to six—six points, six-figure endorsements, six-star hype. But fast forward two years, and that gold turned a little rusty. Then the Pac-12 and Big 10 came knocking with receipts, and now? Those beaches aren’t sand—they’re quicksand. Riley is sitting on back-to-back 8- and 7-win seasons, and 2025 isn’t just a new chapter… it’s judgment day. Now, Riley got put on the spot heavy—man was forced to keep it a buck about Husan Longstreet after Chad Bowden dropped that $923M flex.
Tuesday afternoon, fresh off USC’s 13th spring ball practice, Riley finally cracked the door open on the quarterback battle folks have been whispering about since Husan Longstreet first touched down in L.A. From Corona’s Centennial High to the Coliseum, Husan didn’t pull up to be anybody’s clipboard holder. And yet, when Riley was asked if Husan could be QB1, he gave a calm but cold response.
Lincoln Riley kept it real: “Jayden’s taking the reps with the ones. There’s really not—with more ones and twos—there’s really not as much like, ‘this guy with the ones’ or ‘this guy with the twos’ in spring. It’s more just about quality team reps. He’s getting better. I mean, he does some great things. And he still makes some freshman mistakes from time to time. He’s just growing and learning. And so, you know, for us it’s not—I mean Jayden’s clearly the number one quarterback right now. I mean, that’s, that’s which is not surprising at all.” Translation? That throne still belongs to Jayden Maiava.
Jayden has been sliding quietly but deadly. Took the reins late last season after Miller Moss couldn’t quite hold the keys. The 6’4″ baller out of Honolulu threw 11 touchdowns in 7 games—and didn’t need the whole playbook to cook. He gave Nebraska three of them. Spun up Notre Dame like Sunday brunch. Then straight up bodied Texas A&M in the Las Vegas Bowl with four tuddies.
Lincoln Riley did not forget to give props to Husan Longstreet: “Husan has done a really nice job. He makes a lot of explosive plays. I would expect, you know, in there in the summer, he would have an opportunity to get a lot better—just like I kind of told you guys the same thing about Jayden last year. I mean, last year in spring, you know, Jayden was doing some good things but was still learning. And the summer and fall camp was really helpful for him. I’m sure it will be for Husan.”
And this isn’t any cupcake competition. Husan Longstreet’s a dawg. No. 1 dual-threat QB in some circles. Big energy. Confidence is loud. But that USC QB room is looking like LAX at rush hour. Sam Huard’s in there too—former five-star, bounced from UW to Cal Poly to Utah, now in Troy through the portal. Everybody wants the spot, but right now? Maiava got the aux cord, the keys, and the wheel.
Chad Bowden’s $923M message
Now, while Riley’s QB battle got Trojans fans glued to spring camp updates, behind the scenes, he’s playing chess—not checkers. And the biggest piece he moved in the off-season? Chad Bowden back in February. The GM who helped Notre Dame make it to natty packed up his bags and took his talents to Tinseltown. Lincoln didn’t just hire a GM—he bought himself a recruiter with heat.
Bowden isn’t pulling up on no discount either. USC dropped a million a year to lock him down—up from the $270K he was making in South Bend. This isn’t just a raise. This is an investment. The guy is tasked with selling a $923 million program to a portal flooded with 2,200 athletes. Let that marinate: USC is damn near a billion-dollar brand, and Bowden’s the one cooking the pitch.
He kept it real on Josh Pate’s pod: “Every kid wants to be the starter, wants to be the All-American, wants to be the first-round pick… but everybody’s past is different.” Translation? USC isn’t just selling starts. They sell in’ futures. And clearly, the pitch hitting. USC’s 2026 class is straight heat: No. 2 nationally. Two 5-stars, ten 4-stars, ten 3-stars. Bowden came in and flipped the script like a Jordan Peele plot twist.
He said it himself back in March: “Going into the future of the new era of college athletics, we are going to be blazing the trail, [as] opposed to just being a part of it. We’re going to be the leaders in it.” Big talk. But he’s backing it. And Riley? Finally got a right-hand man that can move in silence but hit loud. Bowden also made one thing clear—Cali kids are the cheat code. “We recruit Cali kids who really understand what USC is about. Maybe only one out of four or five visitors will be all-in… but the goal is to stack enough of that one guy.”
So don’t let the 7-6 record fool you. Riley isn’t folding. Not with Bowden out here building like it’s Madden franchise mode. They might’ve lost Julian Lewis to Colorado, but they’re loading up on dudes who buy into the process, not just the spotlight. Bowden broke it down: “You have to put all your value into what USC can do for you and how we’re going to develop you.” That’s the gospel now. No more empty hype. Just value, vision, and vibes.
And maybe that’s the key. For all the pressure on Riley to bounce back in 2025, he’s finally moving like a CEO—not just a play-caller. Now, he’s got his QB1 for now. Got his recruiting wizard in place. Got a billion-dollar brand to flex. The question is—can all the pieces click before the Coliseum crowd starts getting restless again?
The post Lincoln Riley Forced Into Tough Husan Longstreet Admission for 2025 After Chad Bowden’s $923M Message appeared first on EssentiallySports.
