By Mark Pszonak
It is difficult for a team to have a successful season if the quarterback doesn’t play up to expectations. That was the case with these three quarterbacks, who all need to improve their play if their teams are to have a successful 2025
Aidan Chiles – Michigan State
Chiles was a huge recruiting win for Oregon State, and then became the same for Michigan State when he decided to follow his head coach, Jonathan Smith, to East Lansing. However, as a first-time starter, 2024 was a very bumpy road for Chiles and the Spartans’ offense during a 5-7 season. Overall, he passed for 2,425 yards, 13 touchdowns and a Big Ten leading 11 interceptions, while completing 59.4% of his attempts. The interception total was especially troubling considering he only attempted 323 passes, which was 11th most in the conference.
2025 is an important season for Chiles, Coach Smith and the direction of the program. Since 2018, aside from their 11-2 season in 2021, the Spartans have gone a combined 30-39 and 19-33 in the Big Ten. For the Spartans to become relevant again, it needs to start in 2025 and that won’t happen without more consistency from Chiles.
Kyron Drones – Virginia Tech
Entering the 2024 season, Virginia Tech was a trendy under-the-radar pick to make the playoffs. Instead, they went 6-7 and lost in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl to Minnesota. One reason for the disappointment was the regression of Drones, who after a promising 2023 season only passed for 1,562 yards, 10 touchdowns and six interceptions in 2024. His production on the ground also dipped from 818 yards in 2023 to 336 in 2024.
Unlike 2024, expectations are rather minimal regarding the program during this offseason. But Drones has the potential to quickly change that if he can get off to a quick start. One big hurdle to that happening is that the Hokies start their season against South Carolina and then return home to host Vanderbilt, which they lost to in the 2024 season opener. A rebound season by Drones will go an extremely long way in both determining the team’s level of success and also how hot head coach Brent Pry’s seat will get this fall.
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Jayden Maiava – USC
After his transfer from UNLV, Maiava was thrust in the spotlight last season once Miller Moss was benched. He responded with a mixed bag of results during his four games as a starter. While he averaged 283 yards per game and threw 11 touchdowns, he also had six interceptions. Coming off a 7-6 season, the Trojans will need a better performance if they hope to make a statement in the Big Ten in 2025.
In addition to the pressure Maiava will be facing to improve his play, he also knows that impressive freshman quarterback Husan Longstreet is lurking in the shadows. Head coach Lincoln Riley has never been bashful to make changes and likely won’t be to bench Maiava if he falters during the early portion of the season. The good news for USC and Maiava is that the first four games are against Missouri State, Georgia Southern, Purdue and Michigan State, but the problem is that the following four are against Illinois, Michigan, Notre Dame and Nebraska. It will be interesting to see who the quarterback is after these eight games.
