Julian Lewis (American football): Difference between revisions

 

==Early life==

 

Lewis "dominated in middle school" for his football team and was named the Georgia state player of the year for his age each year from age 10 onward.<ref name="auto2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/3104875/2022/02/01/julian-lewis-and-the-life-of-a-14-year-old-quarterback-recruit-early-offers-and-the-fine-line-of-growing-up-quickly/|website=[[The Athletic]]|title=Julian Lewis and the life of a 14-year-old quarterback recruit: Early offers and the fine line of growing up quickly|date=February 1, 2022|author=Snyder, Audrey}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite news|url=https://archive.today/20240618001912/https://www.times-georgian.com/times_georgian/lewis-to-take-on-the-starting-role-at-carrollton/article_d5add001-185f-5553-8511-2f07c4b86304.html|newspaper=[[Times-Georgian]]|title=Lewis to take on the starting role at Carrollton|date=June 30, 2022|author=Cole, Tucker|via=[[archive.ph]]}}</ref> He played at [[Pace Academy]] before transferring to Carrollton Junior High School in eighth grade, where he won an award as eighth grade national player of the year.<ref name="auto4"/><ref name="auto2"/> He received his first [[athletic scholarship]] offers in mid-September 2021 from major schools including [[Florida Gators football|Florida]] and [[Penn State Nittany Lions football|Penn State]], and soon after received a large number of other offers from prominent schools.<ref name="auto"/>

Lewis immediately became the starting [[quarterback]] at [[Carrollton High School (Carrollton, Georgia)|Carrollton High School]], winning the job as a 14-year-old [[freshman]] in 2022.<ref name="auto4"/> He had received more than 15 [[NCAA Division I]] scholarship offers prior to playing his first game in high school, and was ranked as the number one 2026 college football recruit by several sources.<ref name="auto"/> In his debut, he threw for 288 yards and five [[touchdown]]s in a 69–7 win over [[Gadsden City High School]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.tuscaloosanews.com/story/sports/2022/08/20/high-school-football-freshman-qb-julian-ju-ju-lewis-holds-big-college-recruiting-offers/10341275002/|newspaper=[[The Tuscaloosa News]]|title=Meet the Georgia freshman QB with offers from Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee already lined up|date=August 20, 2022|author=Kassim, Ehsan}}</ref> He ultimately appeared in 15 games and had what ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' described as "the most staggering freshman season in Georgia's robust high school football history," throwing for 4,118 yards and 48 touchdowns to 12 [[interception]]s.<ref name="auto4"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.maxpreps.com/ga/carrollton/carrollton-trojans/athletes/julian-lewis/football/stats/?careerid=eqc3tnh0d22cc|website=MaxPreps.com|title=Julian Lewis' High School Football Stats}}</ref> Despite playing in Georgia's highest classification, he led the Carrollton Trojans, previously unranked, to an undefeated regular season and an appearance in the state championship, where he set the state record with 531 passing yards and threw for five touchdowns in a loss.<ref name="auto4"/> He completed 65.5 percent of his pass attempts on the season and was named first-team all-state as well as the national freshman of the year by [[MaxPreps]], having placed 12th in state history for single-season passing yards.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.maxpreps.com/news/_vfCcdCrG0mzblosRD7QuA/julian-lewis-of-carrollton-named-2022-maxpreps-national-freshman-of-the-year.htm|website=MaxPreps.com|title=Julian Lewis of Carrollton named 2022 MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year |date=January 13, 2023|author=Poff, Zack}}</ref>

 

 

Lewis entered his sophomore year as the consensus No. 1 sophomore prospect.<ref name="auto5">{{Cite news|url=https://www.ajc.com/sports/high-school-sports-blog/lewis-wins-gatorade-state-football-player-of-year-award/BN7OR4P2FNEDJI2P2IU3VKKPUQ/|newspaper=[[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]|title=Julian Lewis wins Gatorade state football player-of-year award|date=January 3, 2024|author=Holcomb, Todd|url-access=subscription}}</ref> He threw for 3,094 yards and 48 touchdowns to only two interceptions, being named the [[Gatorade]] Georgia player of the year while helping Carrollton to a 11–2 record; they reached the Class 7A quarterfinals and won the regional title.<ref name="auto5"/><ref name="auto1">{{Cite news|url=https://archive.today/20240117110149/https://www.ajc.com/sports/high-school-sports-blog/carrollton-qb-julian-lewis-reclassifies-will-play-one-more-high-school-season/PYXYJKBTWZAJLCV2MGF3CCLJFE/|newspaper=[[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]|title=Carrollton QB Julian Lewis reclassifies, will play one more high school season|date=January 16, 2024|author=Holcomb, Todd|via=[[archive.ph]]}}</ref> He was named the national sophomore of the year by MaxPreps and also was named a finalist for Gatorade's national player of the year award.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://247sports.com/article/julian-lewis-reclassifies-where-usc-commit-julian-lewis-slots-into-the-2025-rankings-225520567/|website=[[247Sports]]|title=Where USC commit Julian Lewis slots into the 2025 rankings after reclassification|date=January 16, 2024|author=Ivins, Andrew}}</ref> In January 2024, Lewis re-classified to 2025, but still retained his position as the No. 1 prospect for his class on the [[Rivals.com]] rankings.<ref name="auto1"/><ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://highschool.si.com/recruiting/2024/02/26/julian-lewis-named-nations-no-1-prospect-by-rivals-in-updated-rankings|magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]]|title=Julian Lewis named nation's No. 1 prospect by Rivals in updated rankings|author=Nemec, Andrew|date=February 26, 2024}}</ref>