Highly touted quarterback prospect Julian Lewis has been one of the most talked about players in this recruiting cycle. The former 2026 prospect (before reclassifying to 2025) committed to the USC Football program back in August of 2023. Ever since then, programs such as Georgia, Colorado, Auburn, Indiana, and others have been hot on the trail to flip his commitment.
So far, even after multiple visits around the country, Lewis has stayed committed to the USC Trojans.
In today’s College Football landscape, there are many factors when committing to a program, but for Lewis, it seems that there was one major reason why he chose USC.
In an interview with Adam Breneman, Lewis told him that the sole reason he committed was due to Head Coach Lincoln Riley.
Julian Lewis Chose USC Football Because Of Lincoln Riley
“I chose USC for Lincoln Riley. I mean, overall, I mean I didn’t really know about Cali like that. I just chose Coach Riley and I believed in him and what he is doing with quarterbacks.”
Breneman then asked him about his favorite Riley story.
“Shoot, probably the day he offered me. ‘Cause I mean, he wasn’t really planning on offering me that day ’cause he doesn’t offer many kids. So, I mean, we sat down and watched film all day and we talked about it. He’s like, you know what, I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna do it. He offered me, and I mean, it took me, I don’t know how long it took me for me to verbally commit. I think I came back like three weeks later and I like, okay.”
Related: USC Trojans 2025 Commitment Tracker
Lincoln Riley’s track record with quarterbacks speaks for itself. He is responsible for three Heisman Trophy winners (Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, and Caleb Williams), and Jalen Hurts finished runner-up. Those three Heisman winners were also selected first overall in the NFL Draft, and Hurts was selected in the 2nd round and has a Super Bowl appearance with the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Trojans and Riley will have to ensure that their NIL offering remains competitive and the team will need to show massive improvement in the fall if they intend to keep Lewis committed, but in terms of development, there is no coach in college that does it better for quarterbacks.
