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Julian Lewis, the top high school football player in the class of 2026, is headed to college a year early.

The quarterback told ESPN that he plans to reclassify and enter college in the class of 2025. That means this upcoming season at Carrollton High School in Georgia will be his final year in high school.

Lewis committed to USC in August. That’s one of several high-profile schools that has recruited him to come in either the class of 2025 or 2026.

“Since I was 7 years old, one of my goals has been to play Division I football,” Lewis told ESPN. “Through hard work and sacrifice that goal has become a reality. I have been blessed to have two good seasons under Coach Joey King and I have confidence that after this coming season I will be ready to compete at the next level.

“So, after much prayer and talking with my family, coaches and trainers I will be reclassifying to the class of 2025.”

Lewis is such a talent that he could be ESPN’s top-ranked high school player in either the class of 2025 or 2026.

It’s expected that he’ll be ranked No. 1 in the class of 2025 in ESPN’s next rankings when they come out on Jan. 29. In ESPN’s August rankings of high school prospects regardless of class, Lewis ranked ahead of the current top player in the class of 2025, quarterback Bryce Underwood, who recently committed to LSU.

Not surprising of a player of his stature, Lewis has offers from the sport’s top programs — Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State, Texas and Oregon. Lewis, 16, is also the rare high school recruit who has built a strong national reputation outside of recruiting circles, as he already has 131,000 Instagram followers.

King also coached Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence when he was in high school. Lewis’ talent has been compared to that of both Lawrence and Georgia native Justin Fields when at the same age.

King told ESPN last year about Lewis: “I’ve had the privilege of coaching Trevor Lawrence. He’s in the same category as Trevor. The skill set and arm talent he has are definitely advanced for his age.”

In two seasons of high school, he’s thrown for a total of 7,212 yards, 96 touchdowns and completed nearly 66% of his passes. This year, he threw 48 touchdowns and just two interceptions, down from 12 a year ago.

Lewis had emerged as the face of the case for Georgia high school athletes to earn NIL deals, a rule that passed in the state in early October.

He’ll now have one more season of high school in Georgia before entering the college realm. USC does not have a quarterback commitment in the class of 2025. More than half of that class’ top quarterbacks — four of the top five dual threats and six of the top 10 pocket passers — have already verbally committed.

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QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

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QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who lost his starting job earlier this week, will not be returning to the team, he announced Thursday night.

Castellanos, who started 12 games last season and retained the top job under new coach Bill O’Brien, wrote on X that “unfortunately, all good things come to an end, even though it’s sooner than I would like.” He did not mention the transfer portal in his departing message and has not officially entered it. The junior from Waycross, Georgia, started his career at UCF and appeared in five games in 2022.

O’Brien said Tuesday that Grayson James, who replaced Castellanos in last week’s win against Syracuse, will start Saturday when Boston College visits No. 14 SMU. Castellanos “wasn’t real thrilled” with the decision, O’Brien said, adding that the quarterback decided to step away from the team for several days.

Castellanos had 2,248 passing yards and 1,113 rushing yards last season under coach Jeff Hafley, passing for 15 touchdowns and adding 13 on the ground. He had 18 touchdown passes and only five interceptions this season, but his accuracy dipped in recent weeks, and he completed only 2 of 7 passes against Syracuse before being replaced.

In his statement, Castellanos thanked both coaching staffs he played for at Boston College and wrote that he had “some of the best experiences of my life in the Eagles Nest and I will truly cherish these memories forever.”

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Gators’ Lagway ‘ready to play,’ will start vs. LSU

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Gators' Lagway 'ready to play,' will start vs. LSU

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida quarterback DJ Lagway is “ready to play,” coach Billy Napier said Thursday on his weekly radio show.

Napier removed Lagway from the team’s injury report and penciled him in to start against No. 21 LSU in the Swamp on Saturday.

Lagway practiced every day this week while progressing from a strained left hamstring. The highly touted freshman was carted off the field against Georgia on Nov. 2. Tests revealed a “less significant” injury than initially feared, and now he’s back in time to face the Tigers.

The Gators (4-5, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) need him. They have to win two of their final three regular-season games to become bowl eligible.

LSU (6-3, 3-2) has struggled mightily against dual-threat QBs, including Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, who ran for 185 yards and four touchdowns last week.

Lagway returns after walk-on and Yale transfer Aidan Warner started in his place against Texas. Warner threw two interceptions and was 12-of-25 passing for 132 yards in a 49-17 loss.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Georgia leading rusher Etienne ruled out vs. Vols

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Georgia leading rusher Etienne ruled out vs. Vols

No. 12 Georgia will be without leading rusher Trevor Etienne for Saturday’s showdown against No. 7 Tennessee.

Etienne was downgraded from questionable to out on Thursday night’s SEC availability report.

Etienne left Georgia’s win over Florida with an upper-body injury on Nov. 2 and did not return. He played limited snaps in last week’s 28-10 loss at Ole Miss, carrying the ball six times for 24 yards.

Etienne leads the Bulldogs with 477 rushing yards and seven touchdowns this season.

The loss is another blow to Georgia’s banged-up backfield. Cash Jones is also listed as questionable while Branson Robinson remains out after missing the past three games with a knee injury.

That leaves true freshman Nate Frazier as the only healthy Bulldogs running back who has played meaningful snaps this year. Frazier is second on the team with 333 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

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