Could 2026 Georgia QB Julian Lewis End Up Lincoln Riley’s Top 2025 Target?
Not one current college football coach can claim more success with developing quarterbacks than USC head coach Lincoln Riley. Since Riley became a head coach at Oklahoma back in 2017, he’s had five starting quarterbacks. Four of the five have been Heisman Trophy finalists and three have won the prestigious award.
“That’s a staggering thought,” Joel Klatt said on episode of his podcast in December, “The Joel Klatt Show.” “What Lincoln Riley is doing with quarterbacks is totally unprecedented. We’ve never seen something like this before.”
The quarterbacks to play under Riley are as follows: Baker Mayfield (2017), Kyler Murray (2018), Jalen Hurts (2019), Spencer Rattler (2020-21) and Caleb Williams (2021-23).
Mayfield won the Heisman in 2017, Murray in 2018, Hurts was a finalist in 2019, and Williams won it this past season.
“When you look at those guys, this is not the exact same player,” Klatt said. “They aren’t cut from the exact same mold. They don’t play the game the exact same way. They have strengths, they have weaknesses, and they are all very different.”
The fact Williams followed Riley to USC and 2023 5-Star Los Alamitos QB Malachi Nelson committed to him at Oklahoma in 2021, speaks volumes about Riley. Obviously Nelson decommitted from Oklahoma and signed with USC last December.
USC QBs 2023 and beyond
As we’ve pointed on several occasions, Riley doesn’t recruit multiple quarterbacks. He identifies one he feels strongest about, offers and develops that relationship. This recruiting cycle Riley offered three quarterbacks, Dylan Raiola, DJ Lagway and Elijah Brown.
Although Brown ever seemed to be a huge priority, Raiola and Lagway were. Now that it appears USC may not grab a 2024 prep quarterback, the belief is the Trojans will look to the transfer portal for a quarterback if necessary. The reality is, there’s not a pressing need to add depth to the quarterback room at this time, but there will be after the season.
Caleb Williams returns as the unequivocal best quarterback in the country this fall, but the Trojans have some nice *break glass in case of emergency* depth behind the reigning Heisman winner in Miller Moss, a former blue-chip recruit, and 5-star freshman Malachi Nelson.
But Williams will likely be the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, leaving USC with just two highly recruited quarterbacks. If the Trojans don’t take a high school QB, fans can probably count on a transfer coming in to add needed depth. This all depends on how confident Riley is with redshirt sophomore Jake Jensen. Jensen originally signed with BYU out of high school, but served a two-year Mormon mission.
Will Julian Lewis be a 2025 or 2026 prospect?
One thing that’s well known, Lewis will have that option. On3 Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons reported earlier this week that Lewis will have the academic credits to be part of either class. Heading into this school year, Lewis is still part of the 2026 class and in no rush to make that decision.
Some schools are already recruiting Lewis like he is their 2025 target while others still have him on their board as a 2026 quarterback. Depending on who Lewis likes most in the end, and what class they want him to be a part of, could factor into his decision to remain a 2026 prospect or reclassify to 2025.
Regardless, Lewis will be coveted by many of the nation’s best. As a freshman, the 6-foot-1, 185-pounder threw for 4,118 yards and 48 touchdowns while leading Carrollton to the state championship game.
Lewis, Riley and USC
Like all top quarterback prospects, Lewis is fully aware of Riley’s track record and has been for a few years. Despite being just 15 years old, Lewis has been on the radar of some college coaches since 7th grade.
“We felt like that was one of those opportunities we couldn’t miss out on visiting,” said Lewis about USC. ike kind of getting to know him, stuff like that. That’s kind of what initially interested us the whole
situation and we’ve been with Coach Riley there twice now.
“This last visit we watched Caleb’s (Williams’s) film from last year, like certain plays and stuff. The first visit we watched Baker’s film from Oklahoma. So we’ve had a good amount of time to sit down and talk football.”
Caleb Williams
Not only is Lincoln Riley a big draw for quarterbacks, his current quarterback is a huge draw for prospects who’ve signed with the Trojans. Lewis shared his thoughts on what he’s seen from the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner.
“He definitely extends plays well running around and stuff like that,” Lewis said. “That’s one thing that he does that I don’t necessarily do as much, but you definitely notice that first. Not many plays die with the ball in his hand.”
Lincoln Riley
“Coach Riley obviously mentally prepares people pretty well,” said Lewis. “He’s had two or three first overall picks in the NFL Draft, and one upcoming. Three Heisman winners. So, obviously he’s doing something right. The way that he sees the game and talks about the game is impressive.
“He’s a great guy. Like his energy is always high. Of course he gets fiery, but that’s just football. But yeah, I love Coach Riley. He’s a great guy.”
USC and L.A.
WeAreSC asked Lewis what USC and being in Los Angeles could potentially offer him in the future?
“I’ve learned how expensive USC is,” Lewis said. “I didn’t know how crazy expensive it was, so course academically they’re pretty good. The relationships you can build in California are second to none, too. I mean, you can’t really beat the Cali life.
“Cali’s beautiful. I mean, I love it out there. I love L.A. and you can’t really beat that whole situation.”
Georgia quarterbacks
The one position California has an overwhelming talent advantage with is quarterback, but Georgia has somewhat become a second spot to look after the Golden State.
“When I was eight, I was training with Justin (Fields) and Trevor Lawrence,” said Lewis. “Those are like my two guys. I look up to Justin and he’s kind of my guy forever. Like, I still talk to Justin to this day.”
Scott’s thoughts
We’ve been hearing about Lewis possibly reclassifying for quite some time, but Chad Simmons provided confirmation of that possibility for him. The consensus among those I talk to is USC will be among the top schools until the end, but Georgia and Alabama are two schools Lewis mentioned as two other strong options.
Will Lincoln Riley and USC be hard to turn down in the long run? If you’re a betting man or woman, the smart money is always on Riley with quarterbacks. He won’t get them all like with Raiola and Lagway, but the Trojans signed a Top 5 2023 QB in Nelson. If Riley doesn’t sign a QB in 2024, he will be all over a class of 2025 prospect. Our guess is that 2025 target will be Julian Lewis.
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