1. Home
  3. Sport

Top high school QB recruits: How the nation’s elite prospects fared over the weekend

21 October 2024Last Update :
Top high school QB recruits: How the nation’s elite prospects fared over the weekend

Happy Monday and welcome back to another edition of our prep quarterback report, where we check in on the nation’s top QB recruits and how their seasons are going.

It may only be the midway point of the college season, but many high school recruits are in the final stretch of their regular season before turning their attention to the postseason. Several of the nation’s top quarterbacks have their sights set on winning a state championship before they head off to college.

Let’s dive in.

Editor’s Note: Missouri commit Matt Zollers and Georgia commit Ryan Montgomery, the nation’s No. 7 and 9 quarterbacks, respectively, are out for the year with season-ending injuries.

Bryce Underwood

School: Belleville (Mich.) High
Committed to: LSU
Ranking: No. 1 overall, No. 1 QB

Underwood and Belleville are a perfect 8-0 heading into their final game of the regular season after a convincing 31-0 win against Fordson on senior night.

The Tigers scored all four of their touchdowns on the ground and got their other three points on a field goal. But Underwood showed off his arm talent yet again with this pass (though it was called back due to a penalty):

The LSU commit will hit the road this week in what should be a fun matchup against Howell — a game featuring two undefeated teams.

The biggest storyline around Underwood as of late, though, came Saturday when he publicly laughed off rumors about a potential $4 million NIL deal to flip to Michigan, his in-state program.

Underwood committed to LSU in January and didn’t take any other official visits over the summer.

His high school coach, Calvin Norman, said in June that despite Ann Arbor only being about 20 minutes from Belleville, he still saw LSU’s staff more than Michigan’s during Underwood’s recruitment. Anything can happen, but Underwood appears to be locked in with LSU.

“You would think that you would see (those) guys all the time,” Norman said of Michigan’s staff. “So that was the only disappointing part — because I’m a Michigan fan. Now I’m an LSU fan. I’m an LSU fan now.

“There’s gonna be no somebody coming in at the last minute and changing his mind. That’s not gonna happen.”

Tavien St. Clair

School: Bellefontaine (Ohio) High
Committed to: Ohio State
Ranking: No. 6 overall, No. 2 QB

Friday was a big night for St. Clair, who tossed three touchdown passes and has now recorded 100-plus passing TDs in his career.

St. Clair hit the milestone in the first quarter but had his longest touchdown pass of the night in the second quarter when he threw a 40-yarder just before halftime. Bellefontaine beat Jonathan Alder 49-7 on senior night to improve to 8-2 on the year.

St. Clair has one more game in the regular season when Bellefontaine travels to 7-2 Kenton Ridge on Friday. Then it’s playoff mode for the future Buckeye, who seems to be playing some of his best football down the stretch.

Keelon Russell

School: Duncanville (Texas) High
Committed to: Alabama
Ranking: No. 12 overall, No. 3 QB

Alabama has issues to work through after another loss on Saturday, this time to Tennessee, but Russell and his Duncanville team are 6-0 and continue to cruise.

The Panthers beat Lancaster 41-7 on Friday, with Russell finishing the night 21-for-31 passing for 252 yards and five touchdowns. He has now thrown at least five touchdown passes in all but one game this season and has already thrown for nearly 700 yards in just two games in October.

For the year, Russell is now 138-for-187 passing for 2,116 yards and 30 touchdowns.

Duncanville travels to play Horn (1-6) this week as the Panthers enter the final third of their regular season. Buckle up for Russell and five-star Oregon wide receiver commit Dakorien Moore down the stretch. Hoping to win a third consecutive state title, this duo has become the most electric quarterback-receiver combo in the country.

Julian Lewis

School: Carrollton (Ga.) High
Committed to: USC
Ranking: No. 28 overall, No. 4 QB

Lewis fell several spots in the 247Sports Composite last week, dropping from No. 15 to No. 28. But the USC quarterback commit is still a five-star prospect and continues to put up big numbers for Carrollton.

The Trojans beat East Coweta 63-10 on Friday, with Lewis finishing the night 21-for-30 passing for a season-high 416 yards and six touchdowns. Friday marked the first time this year Lewis passed for over 400 yards but the fourth time he has thrown at least five touchdown passes in a game.

For the season, Lewis is now 156-for-205 passing for 2,259 yards with 34 touchdowns and four interceptions.

Per multiple reports, Lewis did not visit Indiana over the weekend for the Hoosiers’ win against Nebraska. But USC struggling while Indiana has simultaneously become the best story in college football could make for a fascinating end to Lewis’ recruitment.

Husan Longstreet

School: Centennial (Calif.) High
Committed to: Texas A&M
Ranking: No. 31 overall, No. 5 QB

Longstreet jumped Auburn commit Deuce Knight in the rankings and has moved up from No. 6 to No. 5 among QB prospects. He is now the highest-ranked four-star in the country.

On Friday, Centennial beat Murrieta Valley 28-9, with Longstreet completing 19 of 30 attempts for 232 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed seven times for 38 yards.

For the season, the Texas A&M commit is now 83-for-129 passing for 1,272 yards, 14 touchdowns and four interceptions. On the ground, Longstreet has 41 rushes for 373 yards and five touchdowns.

Next up: Centennial travels to Norco for its penultimate game of the regular season. Longstreet’s numbers are down after he finished with 3,013 passing yards in 2023, but he has thrown for at least 200 yards in three of his past four games and has not thrown a pick since September.

Deuce Knight

School: George County (Miss.) High
Committed to: Auburn
Ranking: No. 32 overall, No. 6 QB

Knight dropped a couple of spots in the 247Sports Composite, from No. 30 overall to No. 32. No biggie for the Auburn commit, who has put up huge numbers in his past two games after returning from a hamstring injury.

In a 51-41 win against Hancock, Knight completed 10 of 16 attempts for 329 yards and three touchdowns. He has now thrown for 548 yards and seven touchdowns with one interception since his return for George County, which is now 5-3 on the season.

For the year, Knight is 43-for-64 passing in five games for 1,064 yards and 14 touchdowns against one pick. George County travels to 4-3 West Harrison this week.

George MacIntyre

School: Brentwood (Tenn.) Academy
Committed to: Tennessee
Ranking: No. 61 overall, No. 8 QB

MacIntyre fell 20 spots in the rankings but is still the No. 8 quarterback and has to be pumped after watching Tennessee knock off Alabama during his idle week on Saturday.

His Brentwood Academy team is 5-3 with two consecutive wins to open October and has two games left in the regular season.

Bryce Baker

School: East Forsyth (N.C.) High
Committed to: North Carolina
Ranking: No. 121 overall, No. 10 QB

Welcome to the top 10, Bryce Baker. The North Carolina commit was previously ranked No. 129 overall and the No. 11 quarterback but jumped to No. 121 and 10, respectively.

East Forsyth improved to 8-0 after a 61-14 win against R.J. Reynolds on Friday. Baker completed 20 of 26 attempts for 259 yards and two touchdowns. He also punched in a rushing touchdown. That brings him to 132-for-169 passing for 2,168 yards and 24 touchdowns with just one pick for the season. Baker has also rushed 37 times for 181 yards and five scores.

Next up: East Forsyth travels to Glenn on Friday in the penultimate game of the regular season. So far, Baker has remained locked in with the Tar Heels, whose top priority will be getting his recruitment to the finish line despite their trying season.

Kamario Taylor

School: Noxubee County (Miss.) High
Committed to: Mississippi State
Ranking: No. 135 overall, No. 11 QB

Taylor has jumped nearly 40 spots in the national rankings since early September.

Noxubee County is 5-2 and has won four consecutive games. The Tigers knocked off Enterprise 54-21 on Thursday, with Taylor finishing 12-for-15 passing for 207 yards and five touchdowns. He was also the team’s leading rusher with 107 yards and two touchdowns on six carries.

The Mississippi State commit might be one of the most explosive dual-threats in the 2025 class, having rushed for 200 yards on Oct. 11, 192 yards on Sept. 27 and 155 yards on Aug. 30. For the year, he is 89-for-161 passing for 1,448 yards with 17 touchdowns and three interceptions. On the ground, he has rushed 79 times for a whopping 825 yards and 11 touchdowns. Not too shabby.

Madden Iamaleava

School: Long Beach Poly (Calif.) High
Committed to: UCLA
Ranking: No. 138 overall, No. 12 QB

For having played just one game all season, Iamaleava didn’t fall much in the rankings — dropping from No. 127 overall and the No. 10 quarterback to No. 138 and No. 12.

Iamaleava played in one game for Warren High School to open the season but hasn’t played since transferring to Long Beach Poly. After weeks of uncertainty, the CIF earlier this month denied him eligibility following the transfer.

Bonus

The big news last week was five-star prospect Jared Curtis, the top quarterback in the Class of 2026, decommitting from Georgia. Curtis, a Nashville native, is ranked No. 6 overall in the class and committed to the Bulldogs in March. In a message posted to his X account, Curtis said he would like to explore his options and didn’t think it was fair to stay committed to the Bulldogs while he checked out other schools. He called Kirby Smart and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo on Thursday morning.

Curtis has already thrown for nearly 6,700 career yards with 74 touchdown passes at Nashville Christian School. This season, he is 117-for-172 passing for 1,857 yards and 22 touchdowns with three interceptions. He has also rushed 45 times for 395 yards and 11 more scores.

Given his status as the No. 1 quarterback prospect in the junior class, Curtis will have many options as his recruitment heats back over the next few months.

(Photo of Bryce Underwood: David Rodriguez Munoz / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

Recent