Coach Prime just landed his biggest recruit yet, receiving a verbal commitment Thursday from prep quarterback Julian Lewis, ESPN’s No. 2 recruit in the Class of 2025.
Lewis, a five-star QB out of Carrollton, Ga., is one of the top quarterback prospects in his age group and gives the CU Buffs a clear successor to Shedeur Sanders.
The Georgia teen took his final official on-campus visit to CU in June. He now becomes Deion Sanders’ biggest prep recruit since the iconic former NFL star took the CU football coaching job in December 2022, potentially joining a roster that already features tackle Jordan Seaton, the No. 1 offensive line recruit in the country for the Class of 2024.
The Georgia native announced his commitment on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” late Thursday morning.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to get to work and compete,” Lewis told McAfee. “CU wasn’t recruiting me until I reclassed, so it really was perfect timing. This is only the beginning. I trust Coach Prime and (offensive coordinator Pat) Shurmur to help me become the player that I want to be.”
Lewis, who goes by the nickname “Ju Ju,” is a monumental commitment for Sanders and CU on multiple fronts.
For one, it gives the Buffs a starting quarterback of star quality after 2024, which is expected to be Shedeur Sanders’ final year in Boulder, and beyond.
The 6-foot-Lewis has thrown for 96 touchdowns and 12 interceptions over his last two prep seasons in Georgia and posted an 11-2 record as a starter in 2023.
He was rated by ESPN 300 as a five-star prospect and classified as a four-star get by the 247Sports.com composite.
If Lewis signs with CU, he would become the highest-rated prep QB to land with the Buffs, per the 247Sports.com database, since Fairview’s Craig Ochs in 2000. The site rated Ochs as a four-star prospect.
For another, it lowers the temperature on concerns and speculation that Coach Prime, whose contract runs through Dec. 31, 2027, would leave the Buffs after his primary stars — Shedeur, son Shilo, two-way threat Travis Hunter — likely depart the program following this fall’s campaign.
Lewis had committed to the USC Trojans, CU’s former Pac-12 rival, in August 2023, before decommitting last weekend. He’d made USC and Lincoln Riley one of his four official visits in the last four weeks, along with Indiana (May 31), Auburn (June 14) and CU (June 21).
Sanders’ 2025 recruiting class had just three members as of this past Saturday, fewest in the Big 12. Lewis’ flip from USC to CU won’t just change the narrative with Coach Prime and future high-school recruits this fall. It has the potential to change Buffs football, as well as the expectations of CU from outside the program, for years to come.
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Originally Published: November 21, 2024 at 10:52 AM MST
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