Recruiting Analyst Gives Indiana Edge To Land 5-Star QB Julian Lewis

Quarterback Julian Lewis has verbally committed to USC, but recruiting analyst Tom Loy does not expect him to stick with his commitment. If so, Loy gives the edge to Indiana over Colorado, Auburn and others.

5-star quarterback recruit Julian Lewis pictured during his visit to Indiana. / via @julianlewis10 on Instagram

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Quarterback Julian Lewis verbally committed to USC on Aug. 22, 2023. But nearly one year later, there is talk that the five-star recruit could be headed to a new school.

"So why are we talking about JuJu, who's been locked in with USC for such a long time?" said Tom Loy, a national recruiting analyst for 247Sports. "Because I've said it for months, and I still want to repeat myself. I do not expect him sticking with his pledge to the Trojans."

"The teams to watch – Indiana, Colorado and to a lesser extent, Auburn. I say lesser extent because it looked like Auburn was about to get it done, and then around the start of July it seemed like they both kind of parted ways and Auburn started focusing its attention more on Deuce Knight."

"So now I'm watching Indiana and Colorado. If I had to pick between the two, I would give the edge to Indiana. I think that staff is doing a phenomenal job. We all know about the relationship with Tino Sunseri. I think coach Cignetti is doing a phenomenal job trying to recruit him, treating him like a priority. Like I said, right now I give the edge to Indiana over Colorado and the field .

"I do NOT expect him sticking with his pledge to the Trojans... Right now I give the edge to Indiana over Colorado and the field." 🗣️@TomLoy247 with the latest intel on 4⭐️ USC QB commit Julian "JuJu" Lewis 👀 pic.twitter.com/x5TPQZ063b

— 247Sports (@247Sports) August 12, 2024

Lewis took an official visit to Indiana in June, and he was in Bloomington for an unofficial visit in February. He's a five-star recruit in the class of 2025 ranked No. 15 overall, No. 3 among quarterbacks and No. 3 in Georgia, according to the 247Sports Composite.

At 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds, attends Carrollton High School in Carrollton, Ga., a suburb of Atlanta. In 2023, he was named MaxPreps National Sophomore of the Year and was a finalist for the Gatorade National Player of the Year award.

Carrollton went 11-2 with Lewis under center last season. He completed186-of-280 passes (66.4%) for 3,094 yards with 48 touchdowns and just two interceptions.

Indiana currently does not have any quarterback commits in the class of 2025, but it just brought in 2024 four-star quarterback Tyler Cherry and three-star prospect Alberto Mendoza. Cignetti brought quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri with him from James Madison to Indiana, and Lewis' connection with Sunseri is a main factor in his recruitment.

“Coach Tino’s been my guy for a long time,” Lewis told On3. “He was like the first guy to really kind of open my dad’s eyes and my eyes to the whole college football thing. They have a great relationship. I probably wouldn’t have thought about it if coach Tino wasn’t there and stuff."

Indiana in December landed Ohio transfer quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who appears to be the Hoosiers' 2024 starter, with returning redshirt sophomore Tayven Jackson as the backup. But Rourke has just one year of remaining eligibility, potentially leaving the starting job up for grabs in 2025.

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• QB SPOT IS ONE REASON FOR FOOTBALL OPTIMISM: Among other things, Kurtis Rourke's likely role as starting quarterback is one reason Todd Golden feels optimism about Indiana's prospects for the 2024 season. CLICK HERE.