This Sentell’s Intel rep on Georgia football recruiting has the latest with 5-star QB Julian Lewis. He ranks as the nation’s No. 2 QB and the No. 9 overall prospect for 2025 for both the 247Sports Composite and the On3 Industry Ranking.
There was a time over the weekend when Julian Lewis reminded us he’s still a high school kid.
The game came first for Lewis in his ascent from middle school phenom to 5-star status in the 2026 and 2025 recruiting cycles.
That level of fame came after he had already flashed his ability over and over on tape.
But there was a game early Saturday evening during the ShockDoctor 7-on-7 tournament in Stone Mountain where he didn’t have his best stuff.
He had a heavy lifting session the day prior. Lewis had also seen Georgia on Thursday and Auburn on Friday.
It sounded like he barely had time to sleep and eat before competing at the tournament.
Lewis was quarterbacking a Delta team at the tournament with new wrinkles. He had some receivers he had yet to develop chemistry with and was just off. There were issues with being on the same page in the depth of certain routes.
His team was also facing a Raw team from South Florida with a stout secondary. That program finished 8-0 over the weekend and won the tournament.
We could call it “off” day for a quarterback with the skills (7,212 yards, 66 percent passer, 96 TDs, 14 INTs) that Lewis flashed for his first two seasons of real football in Georgia’s top classification. (Lewis even had a junior varsity season in the eighth grade where he threw 50-something TDs that folks still tell me about.)
Ok, everyone take a deep breath. This was just one 7-on-7 day.
He still led his team to a 5-2 record in that tournament.
But then there was also a time this weekend when Lewis reminded us he might be the nation’s best high school quarterback. That was the very next day.
He shook off those ills on Sunday. “Ju Ju” played with better rhythm. His Delta team went 2-1 in the tournament to finish in the quarterfinals. Lewis had a headband on to keep his wavy hair back. He saw the field better.
His accuracy returned. “Ju” flashed more of the ability that has him as the nation’s No. 1 overall 2025 prospect for ESPN and Rivals.
Lewis now attracts attention wherever he goes. Being the youngest cover athlete in Sports Illustrated history can lead to that.
And he has a lot on his mind these days.
Will he maintain his commitment to USC? Will he flip to the home-state Bulldogs and catch the eyes of college football? Lewis choosing a program that will always have one of the most talented overall rosters in the game would be a flex for the ‘Dawgs.
Will he be the one to restore Auburn’s program? Or will Alabama get its first real “wow” recruiting win of the Kalen DeBoer era?
Watching him work over the weekend leads this reporter to an independent conclusion: It does not seem in his best interest for his process to stretch into June and July. Maybe even into May.
There are more unofficial visits planned.
He is still a high school kid with a big decision to make. It will not get any easier as the weeks click by.
DawgNation reported on Sunday evening Georgia has garnered the coveted May 31-June 2 official visit slot with many of its other A1A targets for the 2025 class. That is a positive sign for DawgNation.
Julian Lewis: How did his recent Georgia football visit go?
His father, T.C. Lewis, shared his view of their recent trip to Athens last Thursday.
“The other day was really just checking out practice,” his father said. “Enjoying being back out there. Soaking it up for ‘Ju’ and being around the coaches. We had a chance to eat dinner with [offensive coordinator] Mike Bobo, [offensive quality control coach Montgomery Van Gorder] and [offensive analyst] coach [Brandon] Streeter. Just spending time with them, you know, kind of getting a feel for it. Them talking to him about his life. It has nothing to do with football. We didn’t talk football.”
They were all working on a “connection” piece and seeing what could be there.
Lewis went through a practice day. He sat in the team meeting. Offensive meetings. The quarterback meetings.
“That was cool for him to see how they download from practice,” T.C. Lewis. “The things before. The things they address. The things they talk through and look at.”
How does the Lewis family process a big potential visit like that?
“We’ll get in the car and it depends,” T.C. Lewis said. “That night he was pretty tired from getting home at probably 10 o’clock after a school day. The next day it was ‘What did you think?’ or ‘How was it?’ that kind of thing. We just kind of talked through it from there.”
Is the plan still to take five unofficials and five officials?
“I think now for us I’d say it is down to, I’d say realistically, I think he ends up taking three, maybe four at the [officials] at the most. I don’t know. That’s maybe. It just kind of depends. We are going to look at everything right now. I think that’s part of he’s just got so much going on but we’re really just trying to figure out how to close it down.”
“For me, it is just some simple conversations between he and I.”
Lewis said they look at each school. They assess their present and potential future situations.
“It is the landscape,” T.C. Lewis said. “I mean even the schools, right? Georgia is in a situation where they’ve got three scholarship quarterbacks and would really like to have four. Do they go in the portal and get a guy after spring ball? What does that room look like after spring?”
“People can say ‘Hey commit today’ but you don’t even know what [the room] is going to look like in June. It very well could be in a different place.”
Carson Beck will head to the NFL after the 2024 season. That could drop the room down to two or even three quarterbacks. That will hinge on what Georgia does in the April transfer portal window or the December-January portal window after the 2024 season.
For now, the ‘Dawgs can point to Beck and tell Lewis that it could be him. He could be that efficient pocket passer with an NFL arm and high football IQ with the keys to a loaded offense.
Beck is seen as one of the three or four best-returning quarterbacks this fall. Kirby Smart’s program has never had the chance to show that level of a developed QB off to a 5-star recruit.
He’s a clear first-round projection in the 2025 NFL Draft.
“Statistically for sure,” his father said. “Carson has had a great career man. Carson is solid. He’s really good. He had a great season last year and looks totally in command and comfortable now. I think that’s a big part when a dude has been in a place. It is kind of like that Stetson [Bennett] year two and you can just kind of tell they are settled in and in the zone.”
Julian Lewis: How close could he be to a decision?
Lewis said the family will be relieved when they have completed this process of finalizing his college decision.
Will there be a relief when that day comes?
“Absolutely,” his father said.
“I mean we feel like we are close. We know we’re close. It is more so just like kind of dialing down and saying like ‘Hey what is going to be the move?’ and we know a lot of people - in terms of programs - are kind of waiting for this to build the rest of the class off of.”
“Obviously, USC is doing everything they can to make sure that he stays put. Georgia, Alabama, Auburn. They are all just expressing how much they want him. That kind of thing. That’s really where we are at.”
If that move did become Georgia, what is still the biggest reason why?
“The ability to win games,” T.C. Lewis said. “Just compete against the best every day in practice. The level of talent around him. The culture. How hard they practice. The intensity. That’s all there.”
“I think the hardest part with Georgia is that it is almost like they are embarking on not some unknown but at the same time, there’s probably got to be a pure level of comfort to know there will be an opportunity for him down the road.”
It may not be the eventual fit here. But does Lewis already know that UGA would be a good fit for his son’s career?
“Yeah, for sure,” he said. “There is definitely a fit. It is a scheme fit. Systems. All of it. Coaching staff fit. Roster fit. The roster is in a good spot for us right now. You just wonder if it stays that way. That’s the thing. I can’t see ‘Ju’ going the way of Carson and sitting for three years. That kind of thing.”
Beck signed in the 2020 class. He was the off-and-on No. 3 QB that season. It depended on the health of JT Daniels. He was the primary backup for Stetson Bennett in 2021 and 2022 before taking the reins in 2023 for his first season as the starter.
He was named second-team ALL-SEC. Beck ranked third nationally and first in the SEC in passing yards (3,941) and also placed fourth in the nation in completion percentage with a .724 mark.
Beck was patient and it paid off. Nobody expects a repeat of that if Lewis decides on Georgia.
“Even talking to [Carrollton] coach [Joey] King about it, he says that ‘Ju’ is not a dude that is going to sit three years.”
Could Lewis sit one season for his chance in Athens?
“He could definitely sit one,” his father said. “Yeah, but three? We can’t see that. I don’t even think psychologically he could handle that.”
SENTELL'S INTEL
(check on the recent reads on Georgia football recruiting)
