Top high school QB recruits: How the nation’s elite prospects fared over the weekend (2024)

Happy Monday and welcome back to another edition of our high school prep report, where we track how the top quarterback recruits in the nation are playing and how each of their seasons are going.

What a wild day in college football on Saturday. It’ll be hard to top that one, but as we know … college football always delivers.

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It was a quieter week on the prep front. Let’s get to it.

Editor’s Note: Missouri commit Matt Zoellers and Georgia commit Ryan Montgomery are out for the year with season-ending injuries. All rankings are from the 247Sports Composite.

Bryce Underwood

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

Another week, another big win for Underwood and Belleville, who are now 6-0. The Tigers knocked off John Glenn (Mich.) High 42-15 on a night when Underwood only had to throw two touchdown passes, including this nifty throw, thanks to Belleville’s defense and rushing attack scoring twice each.

Touchdown Belleville, @BryceUnderwoo16 makes a nice throw to @MarquisPeoples to increase the Tigers lead to 21-7, 4:51 left in the first half pic.twitter.com/SR1exdXTsj

— BorderWars Sports (@BW_Sports_) October 4, 2024

Underwood, who is laser-focused on winning his third state championship in four seasons, is now one of 10 players on the watch list for MaxPreps’ National Player of the Year. The other players on the list? Alabama quarterback commit Keelon Russell, USC quarterback commit Julian Lewis, Miami quarterback commit Luke Nickel, Maryland quarterback commit Malik Washington, three-star wide receiver Quentin Gibson, four-star Auburn running back commit Alvin Henderson, three-star West Virginia wide receiver commit Montavin Quisenberry, four-star defensive lineman Tomuhini Topui and three-star San Diego state edge commit Jaden Williams.

Next up: Underwood and Belleville take on Wayne Memorial (Mich.) High in their penultimate regular season game. Belleville beat Wayne Memorial, which is currently 0-6, 63-0 a season ago. Then it’s Senior Night for Underwood on Oct. 18 before he goes into postseason mode.

Tavien St. Clair

School: Bellefontaine (Ohio) High
Committed to: Ohio StateRanking: No. 6 overall, No. 2 QB

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After picking up its worst loss since 2011 last week, Bellefontaine bounced back on Friday with a 56-8 win against Tecumseh (Ohio) High. St. Clair was sensational, throwing for five touchdowns and rushing for another as Bellefontaine improved to 6-2.

“Really what’s amazing is with all the extra attention, he’s continued to be the same guy for us that he’s always been,” Jason Brown, St. Clair’s high school coach, said earlier this season about his quarterback.

“Just consistently a great teammate. A tireless worker. He’s a light for us in so many ways.”

St. Clair and Bellefontaine have just three regular-season games left and will travel to Urbana (Ohio) High this week. Urbana lost to Bellefontaine 44-14 a season ago, but the Hillclimbers are 6-1 and have scored 40-plus points three times this season.

To cap off St. Clair’s weekend, Ohio State beat Iowa 35-7 and St. Clair was named the Homecoming King at the school’s dance Saturday night.

Reeves, St. Clair crowned at BHS Homecoming

Bellefontaine High School held its homecoming dance Saturday night.

Tavien St. Clair was crowned the king.

Ava Reeves was named the queen on Friday night before the football game.

See more at https://t.co/dXYXO5ACP6 pic.twitter.com/QxXAO24fHf

— Bellefontaine High School (@BHSChiefs) October 6, 2024

Keelon Russell

School: Duncanville (Texas) High
Committed to: AlabamaRanking: No. 11 overall, No. 3 QB

Russell and Duncanville were off Friday ahead of a huge matchup at DeSoto (Texas) High this week that will feature two of the best teams in Texas. Duncanville is led by Russell and five-star Oregon wide receiver commit Dakorien Moore, the nation’s No. 3 prospect and the highest-rated receiver in the 2025 class. DeSoto is led by four-star SMU wide receiver commit Daylon Singleton and four-star Texas A&M running back commit Deondrae Riden.

Russell, who was in Tuscaloosa last week for Alabama’s thrilling victory against Georgia, is having a dominant senior season as he looks to win his third consecutive state championship.

Mother of 5⭐️ #Alabama QB commit Keelon Russell explains what keeps her son (and herself) comfortable with summer decision.

The Russell family also took in their first-ever game last weekend:

‘I’ve never seen the joy on his face that I saw’

(VIP) https://t.co/lCnGIWOKWA pic.twitter.com/mZrZ57rDWt

— Brett Greenberg (@BrettGreenberg_) October 4, 2024

For the season, he is 90-of-120 passing for 1,437 yards and 19 touchdowns with no interceptions. May he fare better against DeSoto than his Crimson Tide did against Vanderbilt. Yikes.

Julian Lewis

School: Carrollton (Ga.) High
Committed to: USCRanking: No. 15 overall, No. 4 QB

Carrollton is 7-0 and scored 63 points for the second time this season in a 63-27 victory against Westlake (Ga.) High. The Trojans scored 28 second-quarter points and are averaging 46 points per game. They are beating opponents by an average of 30 points per game — and it all starts with Lewis.

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The USC commit had five passing touchdowns and looked confident and poised with his deep ball, including a 43-yard touchdown at the 30-second mark of this video, a 34-yard score at the 45-second mark and a 39-yarder at the 1:30 mark. Lewis, who reclassified to the Class of 2025 from 2026, praised his offensive line on social media after the game. Along with Underwood, he and Russsell are also on the watch list for MaxPreps’ National Player of the Year as Carrollton looks to avenge a loss in the quarterfinals of the Class 7A playoffs from a season ago.

This week, the Trojans play Chapel Hill (Ga.) High in what should be another manageable task for Lewis and his supporting cast. Chapel Hill is 1-5 with its lone win coming in August.

Deuce Knight

School: George County (Miss.) High
Committed to: AuburnRanking: No. 29 overall, No. 5 QB

Knight has been dealing with a hamstring injury and missed his third consecutive game Friday night when his George County team fell to Hattiesburg (Miss.) High 48-21. But last week was still a huge one for Knight, who finally did the inevitable and flipped his commitment from Notre Dame to Auburn.

GO DEEPERAuburn flips 5-star QB Deuce Knight from Notre Dame

Knight had been committed to the Fighting Irish since September 2023 but had been openly flirting with Auburn for months. It felt like only a matter of time until he made a public announcement, and on Wednesday, he finally did. In Knight, the Tigers are getting a five-star lefty who has thrown for 4,000-plus yards in his high school career and would be the program’s highest-rated quarterback recruit since Bo Nix. Notre Dame, meanwhile, will likely look to flip someone else with the early signing period about eight weeks away.

George County plays at Long Beach (Miss.) High this week. Keep an eye out for Knight, who has to be itching to get back on the field.

Husan Longstreet

School: Centennial (Calif.) High
Committed to: Ranking: No. 33 overall, No. 6 QB

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After two consecutive losses to open the season, Centennial is rolling and has scored 60-plus points in each of its last two games. The Huskies beat Roosevelt (Calif.) High 61-0 Thursday with Longstreet finishing with four passing touchdowns, per Sports Illustrated.

Longstreet and Centennial play Vista Murrieta (Calif.) High this week, as they are in the second half of their season. The Huskies beat Vista Murrieta 62-14 a season ago with Longstreet throwing for 299 yards and four touchdowns, and should have plenty of confidence heading into this week. In Centennial’s last four games, the Huskies are averaging 57.25 points per game and have beaten their opponents by an average margin of 33.75 points.

George MacIntyre

School: Brentwood (Tenn.) Academy
Committed to: TennesseeRanking: No. 60 overall, No. 8 QB

Brentwood Academy bounced back from consecutive losses on Sept. 20 and Sept. 27 and crushed Innovation (Tenn.) Academy 52-0 on Friday.

MacIntyre, the Tennessee commit, was 6-of-8 passing for 120 yards and two touchdowns with an additional rushing touchdown on a light day’s work.

George MacIntyre takes it in himself for the TD!

BA 21
IA 0
7:25 1st pic.twitter.com/PJmHsJphmT

— Eagles Sports Broadcast Network (@ESBN_BA) October 5, 2024

For the season, he is now 106-of-165 passing for 1,392 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions.

Brentwood Academy has now doubled its win total from a season ago and can turn its attention toward what should be a fun matchup against Knoxville Catholic (Tenn.) High this week. A season ago, when Brentwood won just two games, Knoxville Catholic was one of Brentwood Academy’s closer losses, as the Eagles fell 47-42. This year, Knoxville Catholic is 3-3, while Brentwood Academy is 4-3.

Madden Iamaleava

School: Long Beach Poly (Calif.) High
Committed to: UCLARanking: No. 126 overall, No. 10 QB

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Deuce Jefferson continues to lead Long Beach Poly at quarterback while Iamaleava, who transferred from Warren (Calif.) High, waits to be cleared to play by the Southern Section of the CIF, California’s governing body. Iamaleava transferred to Long Beach Poly in September and has not played a game since Warren’s season opener in August. Long Beach Poly coach Stephen Barbee has not replied to emails seeking clarity.

Long Beach Poly is currently 2-4 after a 49-14 loss to Mission Viejo, the No. 10 team in the country and the No. 3 team in California in MaxPreps’ national rankings. Long Beach Poly has four games left on the schedule, starting with Millikan (Calif.) High this week. Millikan is 5-2 and lost to Long Beach Poly by three points a season ago in overtime.

Bryce Baker

School: East Forsyth (N.C.) High
Committed to: North Carolina
Ranking: No. 128 overall, No. 11 QB

East Forsyth improved to 6-0 after a close back-and-forth against Mount Tabor that the Eagles won 35-28. For as much as UNC is struggling right now, Baker has been dominant for his high school team and Friday was no exception.

Baker finished the night 17-of-22 passing for 207 yards with three touchdowns and no picks. He also had a season-high 11 carries for 56 yards. For the year, Baker is now 101-of-130 passing for 1,602 yards and 18 touchdowns with just one pick. He has also rushed 33 times for 166 yards and four touchdowns. North Carolina, meanwhile, lost its third consecutive game Saturday, this time to Pitt. Heading into the game, Baker took to social media to cheer on the Tar Heels, whom he committed to in June 2023. Now it’s UNC’s job to hang on until the December early signing period.

🏆 @thebrycebaker2 is our @willbradleysp Player of the Game after making some CLUTCH plays in @EFHS_Football’s conference win over MT Tabor‼️ Hear from the @EastFoAthletics QB after the big win🎤 pic.twitter.com/pSNSvHijjn

— Game of Inches-High School Sports (@GameofInchesHSS) October 5, 2024

Go Heels!🐏 pic.twitter.com/AeFxEd4uUU

— Bryce Baker (@thebrycebaker2) October 5, 2024

KJ Lacey

School: Saraland (Ala.) High
Committed to: Texas
Ranking: No. 138 overall, No. 12 QB

Lacey is still recovering from a reported MCL injury, per Rivals, but could be close to returning soon. Saraland head coach Jeff Kelly told AL.com on Friday night that he hopes to have Lacey back in two weeks. In the meantime, Saraland hasn’t missed a beat. The Spartans are 6-0 after beating Baldwin County (Ala.) High 55-7.

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In four games before his injury, Lacey was 58-of-98 passing for 926 yards and 13 touchdowns with three interceptions. It will be hard to top his stats from a season ago when he was healthy and threw for 3,448 yards and 42 touchdowns against eight picks, but Lacey could be returning just in time for Saraland to get ready for its postseason. The Spartans have three games left in the regular season. If Lacey returns in two weeks, he’d start two of them — against Murphy (Ala.) High and at Theodore (Ala.) High. The Spartans lost by three points in the state championship a season ago. A healthy Lacey, ready for revenge before he heads off to Texas, could be fun to watch.

Bonus

What a day for Vanderbilt and quarterback Diego Pavia on Saturday, when the Commodores knocked off No. 1 Alabama for their biggest win in program history.

Jack Elliott, the Commodores’ quarterback commit in the Class of 2025, went straight to social media to celebrate his future school’s big moment.

This has been known!!! #AnchorDown #oneofone25 pic.twitter.com/NSuuuDWBd5

— Jack Elliott (@JackElliott09) October 5, 2024

“My reaction was obviously excitement for the program not just because they beat the No. 1 team, but more so that all of the things that the staff has been preaching are coming true,” Elliott told The Athletic. “When visiting in April and June, it was evident that the program was changing its ways and was becoming a championship-type of program, and to see this game was just a great arrival of what is to come at Vanderbilt football.”

Soon, he’ll be on campus himself, hoping to get in on the fun.

Elliott is a three-star prospect from Chicago and is the nation’s No. 1,124 recruit and No. 68 quarterback. Don’t sleep on his numbers, though.

In five games with his Mount Carmel (Ill.) High team, he has racked up 1,252 passing yards, 11 passing touchdowns, 487 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. An AC sprain sidelined him last week, but he expects to be back this week.

(Photo of Julian Lewis: John David Mercer / USA Today)

Top high school QB recruits: How the nation’s elite prospects fared over the weekend (2024)
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