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

18 November 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 high school prep report, where each week we track how the nation’s top quarterback recruits are playing and how their seasons are going. This week, the high school playoffs are in full swing. For those still in the hunt for a state championship, the home stretch is here. Others, whose teams have lost, will now turn their attention to college enrollment.

Let’s get to it.

Editor’s note: Ohio State commit Tavien St. Clair and his Bellefontaine (Ohio) High team were eliminated Nov. 1. Missouri commit Matt Zollers and Georgia commit Ryan Montgomery missed the majority of their seasons with injuries. 

Bryce Underwood

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

Underwood’s high school career is over after Belleville made an early exit in the quarterfinals of the Division I Michigan High School Football Playoffs on Friday night. The Tigers, who won state titles in each of Underwood’s first two seasons, had dubbed the 2024 season a revenge tour after they fell in the state championship game a season ago. But Catholic Central beat Belleville 35-21 on a night when Underwood went just 11-for-23 passing for 188 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, per the Detroit Free Press.

He also had this rushing touchdown:

Underwood finishes his high school career with two state championships, 10,000-plus passing yards and Gatorade Michigan Football Player of the Year honors from a season ago.

Now, all eyes will turn toward his recruitment. Underwood has been committed to LSU since January and was on campus last week for the Tigers’ matchup with Alabama, where he snapped a picture with LSU royalty Flau’jae Johnson — a rapper and guard on the women’s basketball team.

Michigan, however, continues to make a push to keep the nation’s top player at home. Stay tuned.

Keelon Russell

School: Duncanville (Texas) High
Committed to: Alabama
Ranking: No. 8 overall, No. 3 QB

Russell and Duncanville won big in the first round of the Conference 6A Division I UIL Texas Football State Championships and are on to the next round after beating Temple 49-7 on Friday.

The Alabama commit threw for 252 yards and five touchdowns on only 10 attempts. He also rushed for this 64-yard score:

But his most impressive moment of the night had to have been this touchdown pass on the move, as he rolled to the right and got rid of the ball right as a defender brought him down:

With the win, Duncanville improved to a perfect 10-0 overall ahead of a matchup with Rockwall this week.

Russell is now 179-for-253 passing for 3,079 yards and 45 touchdowns with zero (!) interceptions.

Deuce Knight

School: George County (Miss.) High
Committed to: Auburn
Ranking: No. 27 overall, No. 4 QB

The past few months have been a bit of a whirlwind for Knight. After first committing to Notre Dame in September 2023, he flipped to Auburn in October and now seems to at least be entertaining the idea of flipping to Ole Miss and Lane Kiffin down the stretch. Kiffin visited Knight last week at his high school after the five-star lefty was in Oxford for the Rebels’ win over Georgia on Nov. 9.

But Knight hasn’t seemed to let his recruitment or the buzz around it impact him or his George County team on the field. In its first playoff win in 17 years, George County beat West Jones 26-22 on Friday night in the first round of the Class 6A Mississippi Championship. Knight finished 13-for-23 passing for 226 yards and two touchdowns against one interception, in addition to rushing for 54 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries, according to 228 Sports.

Knight looked calm all night and was particularly impressive on this play when he rolled to his right under pressure, then threw back across his body downfield on third-and-8 for a 61-yard touchdown:

This week should be a fun one for George County. After losing to Picayune 27-20 on Nov. 1, Knight and his teammates will get another crack at the Maroon Tide on Friday in the quarterfinals. The last time these teams played, Knight finished 10-for-23 passing for 152 yards with one touchdown and one interception, in addition to rushing 16 times for 92 yards and two touchdowns. It’ll be fun to see how Picayune game plans for the dual-threat Knight, who no doubt is hoping to get revenge this time.

Julian Lewis

School: Carrollton (Ga.) High
Committed to: TBD
Ranking: No. 31 overall, No. 5 QB

It was only a matter of time, but it finally happened Sunday: Lewis decommitted from USC after being part of the Trojans’ class for about 15 months. The more Lewis visited other schools — including Colorado last month and Georgia this past weekend — the more obvious it was that he wasn’t going to sign with USC. Lewis’ announcement coincided with five-star Husan Longstreet flipping his commitment from Texas A&M to USC.

Now Lewis can turn his attention toward issuing a commitment elsewhere — as well as his Carrollton team’s run through the playoffs.

The Trojans improved to 11-0 on Friday night with a 46-7 win against Dacula and are a team to beat as Lewis looks to win his first state championship before heading to college.

Against Dacula, Lewis finished 23-for-26 passing for 293 yards and four touchdowns. He has now tossed 12 touchdown passes in the past three games and is playing some of his most efficient football down the stretch. For the season, Lewis is 200-for-257 passing for 2,842 yards and 40 touchdowns against four interceptions. He has completed 77.8 percent of passes, with Carrollton scoring 40-plus points in nine consecutive games.

Carrollton plays Valdosta in the second round of the playoffs Friday.

Husan Longstreet

School: Centennial (Calif.) High
Committed to: Texas A&M
Ranking: No. 34 overall, No. 6 QB

The further apart Lewis and the Trojans grew, the more recruiting services projected Longstreet would end up at USC.

Longstreet plays at Centennial High in Corona, Calif., which is about an hour and change from USC’s campus. He visited USC on Saturday for the Trojans’ win over Nebraska and flipped Sunday.

But Longstreet’s recruitment isn’t the only intriguing storyline around him this week. Get ready for what should be one of the most interesting playoff matchups in the country Friday, when Centennial takes on powerhouse Mater Dei in the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Division I Football Championships.

Centennial and Mater Dei previously met in the season opener, but Longstreet was dealing with a foot injury and didn’t play. Centennial lost 42-25. With Longstreet ready to go, this should be a different ballgame featuring two of Southern California’s top teams.

In a 25-20 win over Mission Viejo on Friday, Longstreet went 17-for-23 passing for 216 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed 11 times for 52 yards and another score. For the year, he is now 109-for-165 passing for 1,641 yards and 19 touchdowns against four picks. He also has 55 rushing attempts for 494 yards and six touchdowns. Buckle up for what could be the biggest week of his high school career.

George MacIntyre

School: Brentwood (Tenn.) Academy
Committed to: Tennessee
Ranking: No. 94 overall, No. 8 QB

It’s hard to believe MacIntyre and Brentwood Academy won just two games in 2023. Friday night, the Eagles picked up their ninth win of the season, beating Father Ryan 43-14 in the Division II Class AAA Tennessee High School Football Playoffs.

MacIntyre, a Tennessee commit, went 14-for-25 passing for 351 yards and three touchdowns, per The Tennessean, as Brentwood Academy beat the Irish for the second time this season.

Next up, Brentwood Academy gets a rematch with undefeated Baylor School, which beat the Eagles 7-6 in September. The winner advances to the state championship game Dec. 5.

Bryce Baker

School: East Forsyth (N.C.) High
Committed to: North Carolina
Ranking: No. 95 overall, No. 9 QB

East Forsyth had its closest game of the season, beating Butler (4-6) 38-35 in the first round of the Class 4A North Carolina NCHSAA Football Playoffs on Friday night.

Baker, a North Carolina commit, went 9-for-13 passing for 136 yards and two touchdowns on a night when the Eagles did most of their work on the ground. Baker ran just five times for 18 yards, but the Eagles rushed for a total of 281 yards, including 155 from junior running back Cannen Rottweiler.

East Forsyth is slated to play West Forsyth on Friday. Baker was electric in the first meeting against the Titans, finishing with 237 passing yards and two touchdowns (along with two interceptions) and rushing for 103 yards on 11 carries in a 48-42 East Forsyth win.

For the season, he is 176-for-230 passing for 2,765 yards with 32 touchdowns and four interceptions. On the ground, he has rushed 54 times for 306 yards and five more scores.

Kamario Taylor

School: Noxubee County (Miss.) High
Committed to: Mississippi State
Ranking: No. 134 overall, No. 11 QB

Taylor and Noxubee County took care of business against Jefferson Davis County in the second round of the Class 3A Mississippi Championship on Friday and are on to the quarterfinals.

The Tigers beat the Jaguars 31-6, with Taylor (again) showing why he’s one of the more exciting dual-threats in this recruiting class.

The Mississippi State commit finished the night 8-for-16 passing for 150 yards and a touchdown while rushing 16 times for 142 yards and two more TDs. He also continues to be his teammates’ biggest hype man on social media as the Tigers turn their attention to Seminary on Friday night.

For the season, Taylor is 124-for-221 passing for 2,081 yards with 30 touchdowns and four interceptions. He has also officially hit the 1,000-yard rushing mark and is averaging 10.3 yards per carry.

KJ Lacey

School: Saraland (Ala.) High
Committed to: Texas
Ranking: No. 149 overall, No. 12 QB

Saraland is on to the quarterfinals of the Class 6A AHSAA Playoffs and is a perfect 11-0 after beating McAdory 49-14 on Friday night in the second round.

Lacey, a Texas commit, had one of his more efficient games of the season: 16-for-24 passing for 167 yards and three touchdowns. He is 139-for-225 passing with 2,203 yards and 31 touchdowns against five picks.

Most impressive, he has officially racked up 10,000 career passing yards.

Saraland lost by 3 points in the state championship a season ago and is hoping to send Lacey out on a high note before he enrolls at Texas. The Spartans play Spain Park on Friday in what should be a fun matchup. The Jaguars are 12-0 and have scored at least 35 points in each of their past five games.

Carter Smith

School: Bishop Verot Catholic (Fla.) High
Committed to: TBD
Ranking: No. 159 overall, No. 14 QB

Last but not least, Smith and his Bishop Verot Catholic team are on to the regional semifinals of the Class 2A FHSAA Playoffs after a thrilling come-from-behind victory in Friday’s regional quarterfinals.

Bishop Verot trailed Tarpon Springs by 21 points midway through the second quarter but cut the deficit to 21-14 at halftime and surged ahead in the second half en route to a 35-21 victory.

Smith was just 3-for-4 passing for 16 yards as Bishop Verot turned to freshman Austan Cristiaan, who finished 7-for-18 for 96 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

But Smith found a way to make his presence felt on the ground, rushing 11 times for 118 yards and a touchdown.

The former Michigan pledge decommitted from the Wolverines late last month and is going through the recruiting process again before the early signing period. He visited Wisconsin over the weekend and is expected to visit Florida State, as well.

For the year, Smith is 107-for-178 passing for 1,315 yards and 12 touchdowns against four interceptions. He has rushed 98 times for 598 yards and 12 touchdowns and is one of the most intriguing uncommitted prospects left in this class.

(Photo of Carter Smith: Manny Navarro / The Athletic)

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