Key official visit looms as Colorado pushes to flip USC 5-star QB commit Julian Lewis
The Julian Lewis sweepstakes have been a central storyline in the world of recruiting this cycle. The five-star quarterback out of Carrollton High in Georgia remains committed to USC entering the summer, but other programs continue to try and change that.
Colorado is in that group. Surprising to some, but the Buffaloes have remained in contention for the touted signal-caller. Earlier this spring, Lewis locked in an official visit with Deion Sanders and Co. for the June 21 weekend — one month from now.
On Tuesday, Lewis confirmed his plans to return to Boulder this summer:
Indiana (May 31), USC (June 7) and Auburn (June 14) also have OVs lined up with Lewis, while Alabama has also been a mainstay in his recruitment. Lewis has maintained that he is “locked in” with the Trojans, but buzz around him flipping his pledge elsewhere has not subsided. Not much of that buzz has been centered around Colorado, however.
‘Don’t sleep on the Buffaloes’
High school recruiting has not been at the forefront of Sanders’ tenure in Boulder thus far, that’s no secret. The Buffs did land a five-star prospect — No. 1 offensive tackle Jordan Seaton — last cycle, though. Seaton was at the top of the board then, and Lewis is the main target this go-round.
Last month, On3 VP of Recruiting Steve Wiltfong noted that Colorado is a legitimate threat to flip Lewis from USC. A replacement for Shedeur Sanders under center will be needed after the upcoming season, and Lewis certainly fits that bill.
“Don’t sleep on the Buffaloes, man,” Wiltfong said. “That’s gonna be a third visit to Colorado for Julian Lewis the next time he gets on campus this year, and that is right for him to walk in and be the day-one starter for the Buffaloes, so that is something you cannot ignore. I think Julian Lewis, as he continues to work through his process, ‘where can I get on the field right away, where can I be a day-one starter?’
Colorado, when you look at that list right now, that’s the place that’s probably the most advantageous to do that — not saying he couldn’t do it elsewhere, but Colorado, they’re gonna need someone under center next year.”
Georgia is no longer considered in the running for Lewis after landing a commitment from four-star QB Ryan Montgomery. That’s left a majority of the flip buzz with Auburn — which Wiltfong stated had some momentum as well.
It’s easy to discount Colorado in the race for a high school commitment, but the same thing was done last fall in the recruitment of Seaton. Official visits will be key for Lewis, and USC isn’t going anywhere, but Colorado is just a month away from a seismic official visit from the No. 9 overall prospect in the cycle.
“There’s a lot going on there … let’s not sleep on Colorado,” Wiltfong said.