USC 2026 commit Julian Lewis named Max Preps National Sophomore of the Year

Julian “JuJu” Lewis of Carrollton, Georgia, has been named the 2023 MaxPreps National Sophomore of the Year.

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound quarterback led the Trojans to an 11-2 record and Class 7A quarterfinals. He threw for 3,094 yards and 48 touchdowns and only two interceptions, completing 66.4 percent of his attempts.

Lewis, last year’s MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year, has led Carrollton to a 25-3 record over the last two seasons. He threw for 4,118 yards and 48 touchdowns in 2022.

Committed to USC, Lewis is a five-star recruit and is the No. 1 quarterback in the Class of 2026.

Lewis joins past high school football stars Derrick Henry (2010), Jabrill Peppers (2011), Tate Martell (2014), Quinn Ewers (2019), and last year’s winner, Bryce Underwood (2022), as winners of the award.

Lewis’s future at USC has come into question after the transfer of Malachi Nelson out of the program. The line of thought — which will be much discussed over the next two years — is that if Lincoln Riley continues to pursue rental quarterbacks in the transfer portal, recruits might be turned off, especially if they can’t become starters in Year 1 at USC. That’s a long way off, but it has become a discussion point in recent days after the Nelson transfer.

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Story originally appeared on Trojans Wire