1. Home
  3. Sport

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

25 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 we track the nation’s top quarterback recruits and how their seasons are shaping up.

Slow news week, eh?

Bryce Underwood, the nation’s top prospect, flipped his commitment from LSU to Michigan. Julian Lewis finally broke up with USC and committed to Colorado. And Husan Longstreet, the former Texas A&M commit, is now headed to USC. ’Twas a wild week — and as we get closer to the early signing period, it’s only going to get juicier with other top prospects at different positions.

In the meantime, high school playoffs continue to roll on and there was a shakeup in the 247Sports Composite that changed the pecking order of the nation’s top quarterbacks. Let’s dive in.

Editor’s Note: Underwood’s season is over, as is Ohio State commit Tavien St. Clair’s, the No. 3 quarterback. Matt Zollers and Ryan Montgomery, the nation’s Nos. 7 and 11 quarterbacks, missed most of the year with season-ending injuries.

Keelon Russell

School: Duncanville (Texas) High
Committed to: Alabama
Ranking: No. 3 overall, No. 2 QB

Russell jumped St. Clair in the rankings and is now the No. 3 overall prospect and the No. 2 QB in the Class of 2025.

The Alabama commit and his Duncanville team are 11-0 after a 56-14 win against Rockwall in the second round of the Conference 6A Division I UIL Texas Football State Championships. Russell had a light night, finishing 5-for-9 passing for 133 yards and a touchdown. For the season, he is 184-for-262 passing for 3,212 yards and 46 touchdowns against just one interception.

Next up, Duncanville plays The Woodlands in the third round of the postseason. These two teams met in the third round of playoffs last year, as well, with Duncanville taking home a 49-21 win.

 

Deuce Knight

School: George County (Miss.) High
Committed to: Auburn
Ranking: No. 28 overall, No. 4 QB

Knight’s high school career is over after George County lost to Picayune 63-40 in the second round of the Class 6A Mississippi Championship.

Knight had three rushing touchdowns and a 59-yard touchdown pass, per The Biloxi Sun Herald, but the Rebels lost their third game in four weeks and finished the season 7-6.

It wasn’t all bad for Knight over the weekend, though. The five-star Auburn commit was on campus for the Tigers’ wacky four-overtime win against Texas A&M and posed for celebratory pictures in the locker room, including with budding star receiver Cam Coleman.

Ole Miss’ Lane Kiffin has made no secret about his desire to flip Knight and keep him home, but Knight spoke this weekend like someone who intends to sign with the Tigers.

Husan Longstreet

School: Centennial (Calif.) High
Committed to: USC
Ranking: No. 34 overall, No. 5 QB

Longstreet jumped Lewis in the rankings and is now the nation’s No. 5 quarterback. But his season is over after Centennial lost to perennial powerhouse Mater Dei 36-7 in the semifinals of the Division I CIF Southern Section Championships. And Longstreet played one of his worst games of the season. The recent USC commit threw three interceptions, according to The Los Angeles Times, after previously throwing just four picks all season.

He also had a fumble on a night when Mater Dei asserted its dominance early and often. Mater Dei now plays St. John Bosco in the championship this week in a matchup that will feature the two best teams in California.

Longstreet now turns his attention toward enrolling at USC, just about an hour from his Corona, Calif., hometown.

Julian Lewis

School: Carrollton (Ga.) High
Committed to: Colorado
Ranking: No. 36 overall, No. 6 QB

Lewis may have lost his fifth star last week in the rankings shakeup, but his Carrollton team is still on a roll and is one step closer to competing for the state championship.

The Trojans beat Valdosta 49-13 in the second round of the Class 6A Georgia High School Football Playoffs and are moving on to the next round against Hillgrove.

Lewis, who appears to be the heir apparent to Shedeur Sanders at Colorado, finished the night 17-for-27 passing for 369 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions.

This throw in particular may have been his best of the night.

For the season, Lewis is 217-for-284 passing for 3,211 yards and 44 touchdowns against just four interceptions. Should Carrollton beat Hillgrove (11-1) this week, the Trojans will play in the semifinals on Dec. 6 ahead of a potential state championship game on Dec. 18.

Bryce Baker

School: East Forsyth (N.C.) High
Committed to: North Carolina
Ranking: No. 81 overall, No. 8 QB

Baker and East Forsyth beat West Forsyth 56-19 in the second round of the Class 4A NCHSAA Football Championships and continue to cruise through the bracket in pursuit of Baker’s first state title.

The North Carolina commit, who jumped nearly 15 spots in the national rankings last week, had one of his best games of the season, finishing the night 21-for-24 passing for 334 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. He also rushed six times for 37 yards and another score.

For the season, Baker is 197-for-254 passing for 3,099 yards and 36 touchdowns against four interceptions. The Tar Heels’ 2025 class hinges on him signing next week as the program’s quarterback of the future.

Next up, East Forsyth plays Mooresville (11-1) on Friday.

Jaron Keawe Sagapolutele

School: Ewa Beach (Hawaii) James Campbell
Committed to: Cal
Ranking: No. 89 overall, No. 9 QB

Welcome to the top 10, Jaron Keawe Sagapolutele. The Hawaii native was an unknown prospect heading into the summer and ranked in the 600s as recently as July. But Sagapolutele exploded onto the scene at the Elite 11 Finals in June and has rapidly climbed up the rankings throughout the fall.

In last week’s re-rank, Sagapolutele jumped from No. 120 to No. 88 overall and is now in the top 10 at his position. He’s also an interesting prospect to keep an eye on ahead of the early signing period. Sagapolutele committed to Cal in July shortly after the Elite 11 Finals, but he landed an offer from Oregon in September and Georgia in October. His season ended Nov. 15 with a 27-24 loss to Hawaii powerhouse St. Louis High School. For the year, Sagapolutele was 213-for-302 passing for 3,404 yards and 46 touchdowns against three picks, per Scoringlive.com.

It’ll be fascinating to see what he does next week.

George MacIntyre

School: Brentwood (Tenn.) Academy
Committed to: Tennessee
Ranking: No. 92 overall, No. 10 QB

MacIntyre’s prep career is over after Brentwood Academy fell to Baylor School for the second time this season on Friday, this time 35-21. But as the Tennessee commit gets ready to head to Knoxville, he can leave Brentwood Academy knowing he left his mark on the program.

Brentwood Academy won just two games last season, but the Eagles quadrupled that output in 2024 en route to an 8-4 finish. Against Baylor, MacIntyre was 20-for-31 passing for 217 yards and a touchdown, according to The Tennessean, telling the newspaper that he was “really proud” of this season while also being “sorry it had to come to an end like this.”

MacIntyre goes to Tennessee having finished his senior season 187-for-286 passing for 2,723 yards and 18 touchdowns against three interceptions.

Malik Washington

School: Archbishop Spalding (Md.) High
Committed to: Maryland
Ranking: No. 110 overall, No. 12 QB

Washington also moved up in the rankings last week and is now the nation’s No. 110 prospect after sitting in the 200s as recently as last month.

His Archbishop Spalding team finished the season a perfect 12-0 and won the Class A MIAA championship on Nov. 15.

Washington, the Maryland commit, leaves Archbishop Spalding with 7,000-plus career passing yards and three consecutive championships. He committed to the Terrapins in June and hasn’t appeared to waver since.

Kamario Taylor

School: Noxubee County (Miss.) High
Committed to: Mississippi State
Ranking: No. 134 overall, No. 13 QB

Taylor and Noxubee County improved to 10-2 on Friday with a 45-15 win against Seminary in the quarterfinals of the Class 3A Mississippi Championship.

Taylor, the Mississippi State commit, did it all for the Tigers. He went 15-for-23 passing for 291 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions, in addition to rushing seven times for 85 yards and two more touchdowns. He has now rushed for 227 yards in the past two games.

For the season, Taylor is 139-for-244 passing for 2,372 yards and 35 touchdowns with four interceptions. On the ground, he has run 104 times for 1,085 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Noxubee County plays Magee (12-0) in the semifinals this weekend.

KJ Lacey

School: Saraland (Ala.) High
Committed to: Texas
Ranking: No. 160 overall, No. 14 QB

Another week, another win for Saraland and Lacey, who are 12-0 and on to the semifinals of the Class 6A AHSAA Playoffs after beating Spain Park 45-19 on Friday. And what a time for Lacey to play his most complete game of the season.

The Texas commit went 17-for-23 passing for 276 yards and four touchdowns against one interception. But he really starred with his legs, finishing with eight carries for 110 yards and a touchdown after not having previously rushed for more than 16 yards in a game this season.

For the season, Lacey is now 156-for-248 passing for 2,479 yards and 35 touchdowns against six picks. The Spartans play Pike Road (10-3) this week. The winner advances to the state championship.

Carter Smith

School: Bishop Verot Catholic (Fla.) High
Committed to: Wisconsin
Ranking: No. 164 overall, No. 15 QB

Smith committed to Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon after decommitting from Michigan on Oct. 30.

Smith and Bishop Verot improved to 9-3 on Friday with a 25-12 win against Lakewood and secured a berth in the regional finals of the Class 2A FHSAA Playoffs. It was a light night for Smith, who finished 10-for-14 passing for 71 yards and two touchdowns and rushed 11 times for 34 yards. Next up, Bishop Verot plays No. 1 seed Cardinal Mooney, which is 11-0.

For the year, Smith is 117-for-192 passing for 1,386 yards and 14 touchdowns with four interceptions. He has also rushed 109 times for 632 yards and a dozen scores.

(Photo of KJ Lacey: Manny Navarro / The Athletic)

Recent