In relation to the 2025 recruiting class, there is no such thing as a identify extra distinguished than quarterback Julian “Ju Ju” Lewis from Georgia, who turned a phenom earlier than he even entered highschool.
Lewis, a five-star quarterback that stands at 6’1, 185 kilos, has been dedicated to the USC Trojans for almost a 12 months, having verbally pledged to go coach Lincoln Riley’s program on August 22, 2023.
Nonetheless, that hasn’t stopped the bevy of suitors from coming after Lewis exhausting, because the Carrollton, Georgia quarterback took 4 official visits this season.
With rankings various throughout totally different recruiting websites, let’s break down Lewis as a participant and the place does his recruitment at the moment stand, regardless of being dedicated to USC for the previous calendar 12 months?
Julian Lewis’ profile
Having initially made waves on the nationwide scene as a center schooler, Lewis has been a family identify for years, taking part in within the Below Armour All-American Recreation in eighth grade and receiving early curiosity from Georgia, Clemson, LSU, Alabama, and others earlier than even getting into highschool.
Initially anticipated to be the No. 1 recruit within the Class of 2026, Lewis categorized into the Class of 2025, which not solely improved his degree of competitors, but in addition gave USC an earlier have a look at their prized recruit.
Lewis’s highschool coach, Joey King, additionally had the chance to educate former No. 1 choose Trevor Lawrence in highschool and in contrast the 2 quarterbacks, noting Lewis’ arm expertise being superior for his age group amid the re-classification.
“I’ve had the privilege of teaching Trevor Lawrence. He’s in the identical class as Trevor. The ability set and arm expertise he has are undoubtedly superior for his age,” King mentioned, through ESPN.
So, how has Lewis rounded out as a quarterback?
At 6’1”, 185 kilos, Lewis presents a stable base body with room to develop as he develops into his dimension. With the strengths surrounding his recreation, the quarterback’s smaller dimension could also be one of many larger questions in the intervening time.
Accuracy has been a key element of Lewis’s recreation in any respect ranges, with the quarterback priding himself on ball placement to all areas of the sphere, be it inside construction contained in the pocket or on the transfer.
Not too long ago collaborating on the Elite 11, which is a camp for the highest quarterbacks within the nation, Lewis was particularly praised for that accuracy and ball placement, with On3’s Charles Energy labeling him as essentially the most correct signal-caller through the occasion.
“Lewis lived as much as his repute as a extremely correct pocket passer on the Elite 11 Finals,” Energy mentioned. The USC pledge was essentially the most correct passer readily available over the course of the week, notably on the ultimate two days.”
“Lewis was on course throughout his professional day session and completed second to Tavien St. Clair within the accuracy problem. He carried that over into day three, the place he was in a position to ship with contact and placement throughout his 7-on-7 session. The 6-foot, 186-pounder’s excessive degree of developmental polish permits him to play with superior accuracy, including to his ability set as a cerebral distributor.”
The statistics again up the tape, as Lewis threw for 3,094 yards, 48 touchdowns, and two interceptions this previous season, whereas finishing 66.4 % of his passes.
Once you mix Lewis’s sheer arm expertise, be in on or off-script, together with his high-end athleticism, it’s simple to see why he’s ranked as such a excessive faculty recruit.
Lewis has the total arsenal of instruments to achieve success on the subsequent degree, and, for now, goes to among the finest quarterback gurus in faculty soccer, studying from Lincoln Riley at USC.
Lewis’ recruitment
Now, whereas the five-star quarterback has lengthy been dedicated to the Trojans, Lewis has seen his fair proportion of curiosity from different top-tier packages over the previous 12 months.
That has sparked over a dozen unofficial visits since his dedication, in addition to 4 official visits, resulting in some uncertainty because the quarterback’s senior season approaches.
Final fall, Lewis took unofficial visits to Georgia (twice), Alabama, Auburn, USC, and Ohio State.
Within the spring, the five-star quarterback adopted that up with journeys to Auburn (2x), Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, and Alabama forward of official go to season.
In June, Lewis took 4 journeys, initially heading to Indiana, USC, and Auburn earlier than ending with Colorado through the weekend of June twenty first.
Earlier this summer season, there was critical buzz from the Tigers, who had been seeking to sway Lewis off his dedication to USC, however that appears to significantly have cooled as Auburn is seeking to fill their board on the place forward of the autumn.
Indiana will proceed to push exhausting for Lewis, however USC stays a agency stronghold there, regardless of the quantity of various groups seeking to flip the five-star quarterback from his present vacation spot.
Nevertheless, don’t rely out the Buffaloes both, as they’ve pushed exhausting with head coach Deion Sanders main the cost. Colorado is in search of a quarterback of the longer term as starter Shedeur Sanders is anticipated to depart for the 2025 NFL Draft after the season.
Finally, this recruitment could go till Nationwide Signing Day, making a battle for essentially the most sought-after quarterback within the nation, which can depart a minimum of one workforce in an unlucky scenario come December.
