Georgia 'definitely in play' for USC 5-star QB commit Julian Lewis

The recruitment of Carrollton (Ga.) five-star quarterback and USC commit Julian Lewis has drawn plenty of headlines over the past few weeks.

After his reclassification to the 2025 cycle, Lewis set visits to Auburn, Colorado and Georgia. Over the weekend, the 6-foot-0.5, 185-pounder was back in Athens for his latest visit with the Bulldogs.

Of all the programs that have been mentioned as potential flip candidates in the race for Lewis, none have been as persistent as the in-state SEC school. Lewis has taken a bulk of trips to campus over the course of his recruitment and continues to develop relationships with Kirby Smart and the UGA staff.

“This was his 13th visit to the University of Georgia since he was a freshman, that tells you that they are definitely on his mind. I think Georgia understands having a major in-state target at quarterback, (Lewis) knows a lot of kids, he has a lot of pull around the country,” Georgia recruiting insider Rusty Mansell said on The Inside Scoop.

“Still committed to USC, but he has taken multiple visits, he has made sure that he’s going to see a lot of schools. I think Georgia is definitely in play here. Kirby Smart, Mike Bobo, everybody spent time with him.”

Things continue to speed up in Lewis’ recruitment

Lewis reclassified on Jan. 16 and immediately became a top-10 prospect in the 2025 cycle. He pledged to Lincoln Riley and the Trojans as the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2026. As he’s decided to shorten his time in high school by an entire year, the time to sway Lewis from his commitment has also been cut short.

That’s meant a busy start to 2024, one filled with plenty of visits that aren’t to USC. Following the February dead period, teams and coaching staffs are going to put on the full-court press to try and lure him in their respective direction.

“When he reclassified, it put things into fifth gear for him, so play time is kind of over. This time next January, he will be enrolled as a mid-year enrollee at a school of his choice. Things have sped up, and i’ll tell you this, I don’t know when he’s going to make a ‘final decision,’ but you can bet that when it opens back up in March, people are going to be racing to get him to spring practice to watch these schools,” Mansell said.

“This could be something we watch in June — what if Juju Lewis has five official visits in June? That could get real interesting real quick.”

Georgia is not the only program coming on strong, and while Lewis isn’t the only QB on the Dawgs’ board in 2025, he’s certainly the pick of the litter. In an interview with DawgsHQ’s Jeremy Johnson, Lewis said that he was “still committed to USC” and is now “kind of taking his final tours before closing the thing out.”

With the clock ticking, Georgia will continue to do what it needs to show Lewis that he is a major priority in Athens, though the No. 9 prospect in the On3 Industry Ranking remains pledged to USC, as of Feb. 6.

“I think he is a very, very pivotal and major target for this Georgia staff, especially when he reclassified,” Mansell said.