Tag: USC Trojans Recruiting

Five-star quarterback Julian Lewis visits Georgia football

Five-star USC Trojans commit Julian Lewis visited the Georgia Bulldogs over the weekend

Over the weekend, five-star USC Trojans commitment Julian Lewis visited the Georgia Bulldogs. Lewis attended a Georgia basketball game and sat alongside Georgia football coach Kirby Smart.

Julian Lewis is one of the most talented recruits in the nation regardless of class. The five-star prospect recently reclassified from the class of 2026 to the class of 2025. Lewis is ranked as the No. 2 quarterback in the 2025 recruiting cycle. The uber-talented quarterback is the No. 8 recruit in the country and the second-ranked prospect in Georgia.

Lewis broke out with an outstanding freshman season for Carrollton High School in Carrollton, Georgia, in 2022. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound quarterback followed his 2022 campaign up with another outstanding effort in 2023.
Last season, the Carrollton superstar passed for 3,094 passing yards, 48 touchdowns, and two interceptions. Julian Lewis was named as the MaxPreps National Sophomore of the Year for his efforts in 2023. Lewis helped Carrollton reach the 7A quarterfinals in Georgia and went 11-2.

The five-star quarterback has been committed to USC since Aug. 2023. Many of the nation’s elite college football programs are recruiting Julian Lewis. The USC verbal pledge has recently checked out Georgia, Auburn, and Ohio State. Lewis additionally returned to USC for a visit in November.

Georgia is making Julian Lewis a priority recruit, but the Bulldogs will have a challenge getting Lewis to decommit from USC. Trojans’ head coach Lincoln Riley has an excellent record of developing quarterbacks that is hard to match.

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Georgia finished with the No. 1 recruiting class in the 2024 cycle.

College football recruiting watchlist: USA TODAY Sports college wires weigh in on Class of 2023

USA TODAY Sports college wire editors share their thoughts about the most exciting prospect from some of the top Power Five programs in the country.

The Class of 2023 left the football recruiting world—and college fan bases—entranced for well over a year and a half, with high-profile names like Arch Manning creating significant buzz about their possible college landing spots.

The hype didn’t fall short on the field in 2022, either, as the top-tier crop  delivered consistently, adding to the excitement about one of the better classes in recent high school football history.

And now that the signing-period commotion is in the rearview, we know where the ’23 talents are headed to begin their college football careers, which introduces the other side of the recruiting tunnel.

To better grasp that part of the equation, we’ve turned to the USA TODAY Sports college wire writers who will be following the top recruits at Power Five schools in the SEC, Big Ten, Pac-12, ACC, and beyond in 2023.

Our question was simple: Who are you most excited to watch from the Class of 2023?

Here’s what they had to say…

USC football 2022-2023 early signing period tracker: the latest Trojan commitments

We will add names to this list as the early signing period moves toward national signing day in February of 2023. Stay tuned. Refresh. Update. #USC

It’s that time of year: The early signing period is here.

When we went to bed on the night of Tuesday, Dec. 20, USC football had 20 commitments for the Class of 2023. The Trojans are trying to maximize the value of their first full recruiting cycle in the Lincoln Riley era. Riley had to hit the ground running 12 months ago and scramble to assemble a recruiting class. This is the first year in which Riley and his operations team had a chance to map out a complete plan and zero in on prime targets.

As the names keep coming in, we’ll update them. Stay tuned for more additions to this list as the signing period continues through national signing day in February of 2023:

USC lands O-lineman Elijah Paige, who decommitted from Notre Dame; 1st consensus 4-star since 2019

Elijah Paige is #USC’s first consensus 4-star offensive line recruit since 2019. It’s a Notre Dame flip, too. Josh Henson secures another huge get for the Trojans.

USC still hasn’t signed that elusive five-star offensive lineman. It has been several years since the Trojans have done that. However, USC and Lincoln Riley — and offensive line coach Josh Henson — have checked one very big box: They have landed a consensus four-star offensive lineman.

Elijah Paige, who decommitted from Notre Dame in recent weeks — almost certainly influenced by the Irish’s terrible start under coach Marcus Freeman and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees — has committed to USC. It’s a win over Notre Dame on the recruiting trail, which is great, but most of all, it continues USC’s run of successful offensive line recruitments this year. Ever since the Josh Conerly and Francis Mauigoa failures, Josh Henson has rebounded with a run of big wins, shutting down the idea that he couldn’t recruit his position group.

USC is accumulating the depth and quality on the offensive line which is, in so many ways, the long-term key to the success of this program. USC building line depth — offense and defense — is the most urgent need for the program. Depth is being built:

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Four-star DT Christen Miller sets commitment time

Georgia Bulldogs are looking to add a commitment from Cedar Grove defensive tackle Christen Miller

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Key Georgia Bulldogs recruiting target Christen Miller has set his commitment time for noon on Feb. 2, 2022. Miller is ranked as a four-star recruit and is considered the No. 14 defensive lineman in the class of 2022.

Miller, who participated in the Adidas All-American Bowl, will decide between Georgia, Ohio State, Miami, Oregon, and FAMU.

Christen Miller plays high school football for Cedar Grove in Ellenwood, Georgia. Miller is 6-foot-4 and weighs 285 pounds. He projects as a 4-3 defensive tackle or a 3-4 defensive end at the collegiate level.

In addition to football, Miller also plays basketball for Cedar Grove. The four-star prospect could join fellow Cedar Grove teammate Carlton Madden in Georgia’s signing class. Cedar Grove won the 2021 3A state championship in Georgia.

The star defensive tackle has taken recent visits to FAMU, Oregon, and Miami. He is projected to sign with Georgia.

The four-star defensive tackle is a key in-state target for Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs. Miller checks in as the No. 9 ranked player in Georgia.

On tape, Miller frequently beats offensive linemen with his quickness. Miller will continue to add to his frame and is capable of earning immediate playing time wherever he decides to go.

Miller announced his commitment time via Twitter:

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4-star DT Christen Miller names top 4 schools

Georgia Bulldogs recruiting target defensive tackle Christen Miller has named his top four schools including UGA and USC

Georgia Bulldogs recruiting target defensive tackle Christen Miller has named his top four schools. Ranked as a four-star recruit, Christen Miller is considered the No. 20 defensive lineman in the class of 2022.

Miller plays high school football for Cedar Grove in Ellenwood, Georgia. Miller is 6-foot-4 and weighs 285 pounds. He projects as a 4-3 defensive tackle or a 3-4 defensive end at the collegiate level.

In addition to football, Miller also plays basketball for Cedar Grove. The four-star prospect recently announced his top schools via Twitter. Miller is projected to attend the USC Trojans, but the Dawgs are still in the hunt.

Miller puts Georgia, USC, Oregon and Ohio State in his top four schools. Miller recently received a scholarship offer from the Oregon Ducks and has taken visits to Georgia, USC, and Ohio State. Where will he play college football?

On tape, Miller frequently beats offensive linemen with his quickness. Miller will continue to add to his frame and is capable of earning immediate playing time.

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The COVID-19 Landscape of Football Recruiting

Complicated questions

College recruiting has always been a changing landscape. As technology and coverage has changed, it has improved over time, as has the way college recruits get in contact with recruits and their parents. It’s a way for the colleges to improve their communication in an effort to land highest-ranked recruits in the nation at a time when recruits are more essential to a program than ever before. 

Whether public schools open this fall — including, for emphasis in this piece, high schools with college prospects — seems to be an ongoing battle between Donald Trump and the various superintendents of different school districts. Several superintendents have said they do not plan to open this fall. Los Angeles Public Schools will not open this fall, instead opting to maintain their online correspondence courses this fall… and that’s just one district in the country. San Diego opted to do the same.

It’s a touch and go situation, and it seems very “go” right now as opposed to “touch.” It’s not an easy situation to deal and there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. What works for one district may not work for another. 

This makes it really hard for college coaches to evaluate high school football players. Lack of competition or limited competition — either one — put coaches in a bind. Plenty of coaches won’t have the full set of evaluation-based tools they usually depend on. They’re going to offer a number of kids based on film and film alone. It wouldn’t be terribly surprising if a number of kids in this class turn out to be busts. Coaches are going to have to spend a good chunk of their time developing these players instead of relying on sheer talent. 

Of course, it won’t just be high school players who are offered scholarships. Junior colleges around the nation have already announced that they will be playing their games in the spring instead of the fall. This gives coaches and players time and space to avoid coronavirus infections, providing them the ability to practice and get into shape prior to engaging in a full season of play. Something that gets lost in these discussions is that players need that time to get into football shape. You can’t just slap a season together and expect folks to be ready to go simply because administrators will it to be so. We will be exploring the JUCO recruiting puzzle — and its specific challenges — in another article.