Longhorns Country

LOOK: Longhorns Commit KJ Lacey Visits For Texas Spring Football Practice

Texas Longhorns 2025 QB commit K.J. Lacey made his way to the 40 Acres to take in Spring Football on Monday.

Matt Galatzan

Saraland's Karle Lacey, Jr., (9) throws an early touchdown pass against Clay-Chalkville during the
Saraland's Karle Lacey, Jr., (9) throws an early touchdown pass against Clay-Chalkville during the / Mickey Welsh / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Texas Longhorns future at the quarterback position seems secure for the time being.

Not only do the Horns have arguably the top returning QB in the country in Quinn Ewers back next fall, but behind him, former No. 1 recruit Arch Manning is waiting in the wings.

After Manning, Steve Sarkisian has two more highly-touted passers on deck in 2024 signee Trey Owens, and 2025 commit KJ Lacey.

Saraland's Karle Lacey, Jr., (9) throws an early touchdown pass against Clay-Chalkville during the
Saraland's Karle Lacey, Jr., (9) throws an early touchdown pass against Clay-Chalkville during the / Mickey Welsh / USA TODAY NETWORK

In fact, Lacey just earned his ticket to the Elite 11 Finals - just as Ewers and Owens had done before him - after dominating the Austin regional on Sunday.

And after that, Lacey turnaround and took a visit to the 40 Acres for the Horns spring football practice.

So how good is Lacey really? When it's all said and done, he could end up being the best of the bunch.

In 15 games in 2023 for Saraland Lacey completed 69.5 percent of his passes for 3,448 yards and 42 touchdowns with eight interceptions. He also rushed for five scores.

During that stretch, Lacey led his team to a 14-1 record, a state runner up finish and set Alabama 6A playoff record by throwing for 389 yards in the state championship game loss.

Nearly all of those numbers were an improve from 2022 as a sophomore, when Lacey won a state title for Saraland, throwing for 3,177 yards and 40 touchdowns to go against five interceptions, and completing 63.7 percent of his passes.

In fact, Lacey has been so good over the last two seasons, that he has been compared to former Alabama Heisman Trophy winner, Bryce Young. 

"I get a lot of comparisons to Bryce Young," Lacey said. "I'm eyes downfield. If I'm rolling out, see somebody downfield, I'm going to hit it before I take off running. But, if I have to run, I'll take any good yards. Really good leader leading my team. Winner. I hate losing."

Young, of course, is a veteran of Elite 11 as well, nearly winning the event himself, falling just short behind C.J. Stroud.

And if Lacey is anything akin to Young, the Longhorns will continue to be in good shape for years to come.

Published
Matt Galatzan
MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.

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