Colorado coach Deion Sanders has delivered another five-star stunner.
Five-star quarterback Julian Lewiswho had been committed to USC since August 2023 but rescinded his commitment in recent days, has committed to the Buffaloes after numerous visits to Boulder and much impressive recruiting by Sanders, offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur and others.
Lewis is rated as the sixth-best player and third-best quarterback in the 2025 class — after being reclassified from 2026 — behind only Ohio State commit Tavien St. Clair and LSU committing Bryce Underwood to the position.
With his commitment to the Buffaloes, the Big 12 team, which was transformed into a College Football Playoff contender in just Sanders’ second season, now has a natural progression at the all-important quarterback position from Shedeur Sanders to Carrollton, Georgia. five stars.
Lewis was in Georgia last weekend, but after the Bulldogs acquired four-star Ryan Montgomery in the spring, the state’s five-star to power ratio never really rose during his recruitment.
Indiana has been on an interesting run and the Hoosiers have looked very interesting at many points this fall as they have been the shock team in college football this season and Lewis has a long relationship with coach Tino Sunseri dating back to his days at Florida State. but it never came to fruition.
There was a lot of talk about Lewis staying at USC, but there seemed to be some orchestration in recent days that the Trojans weren’t surprised by the five-star’s decision to withdraw.
USC position coach Luke Huard was at Corona (Calif.) Centennial’s playoff game Friday night, a win over Mission Viejo, Calif., for a four-star-then-Texas A&M commitment Husan Longstraat, who visited before the USC game on Saturday and transferred to the Trojans towards the end of the weekend.
Lewis’ flirtation with Colorado has been long and consistent.
The five-star has made numerous trips to Boulder, gotten to know and appreciate Sanders and how he leads that program, and especially has a strong bond with Shurmur. There’s a lot of respect for Shurmur’s bona fides in the NFL and his play-calling this season with the Buffaloes, which went a long way in this decision.
There has also been a supposedly very comprehensive and competitive NIL package to get Lewis to Boulder, which is another important consideration in the current recruiting landscape.
And the Buffaloes may not be done with five-star and other elite prospects just yet.
Five-star linebacker Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng and five-star offensive tackle Michael Caroll visited both in recent days and the yields were excellent.
Four-star defensive end London Merritt, who has been committed to Ohio State since late March, has one more trip to Columbus and said he would choose between the two programs. Four-star OL Carde Smith withdrew its USC commitment on Wednesday and Colorado could be a frontrunner.
And Lewis’ commitment could spark new interest from top players across the country, with the five-star quarterback’s decision now public.
Editor’s note: This article first appeared on Rivals.com, the leader in college football and basketball recruiting coverage. Be the first to know and follow your teams by signing up here.
