2026 No. 1 recruit is committed to join Lincoln Riley's USC

There was recently a prominent Juju at USC in the person of one JuJu Smith-Schuster. He parlayed a tremendous career with the Trojans to an NFL career that's currently six years deep.

There's a new JuJu in town now, though, and that's new USC quarterback commitment Julian "JuJu" Lewis. Despite the fact that he's a 2026 recruit and still has two years before he can sign a National Letter of Intent, Lewis pulled the trigger for the Trojans because of Lincoln Riley's reputation with players like him.

“At the end of the day, it is about what Coach Riley does with quarterbacks,” Lewis told On3. “Coach Riley develops quarterbacks, he really knows how to manage the room and he knows how to feature guys at that position. The track record he has with quarterbacks really made a big difference in my recruitment.”

Lewis, from Carrollton, Georgia, is the consensus No. 1 player in the 2026 class. He'll be looking to follow in the footsteps of Heisman Trophy quarterbacks Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, and Riley's current protégé — Caleb Williams. 

Lewis already has close to 40 offers to his name, with programs such as Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State all in the running. It's worth noting that there's still an eternity left in his recruitment, so those schools and others still have plenty of time to execute a flip.

With that said, it sounds that USC will be a lock with Lewis is long as Riley is at the helm.

“It is hard to leave what I have right in my own backyard. Alabama and Georgia are two of the most dominant programs in college football, so it was not easy. But I went where I felt was best for me, and that was USC," Lewis explained. The way coach Riley recruits quarterbacks made a big difference. He is all about development and he has shown that with the guys he has coached at Oklahoma and now Caleb Williams at USC. As the head coach and offensive coordinator, the offense will always be centered around the quarterback under coach Riley and I couldn’t pass up this opportunity.”