Happy Monday and welcome back to another edition of our high school quarterback report. Each week, we’re tracking the top QB recruits nationally and what they’re up to with their seasons.
This week, we’re adding North Carolina commit Bryce Baker and Texas commit KJ Lacey into the fold as the nation’s No. 11 and 12 quarterback prospects. Missouri commit Matt Zollers (No. 7) and Georgia commit Ryan Montgomery (No. 9) are both out with season-ending injuries.
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Let’s dive in.
Bryce Underwood
School: Belleville (Mich.) High
Committed to: LSURanking: No. 1 overall, No. 1 QB
Belleville is 4-0 after another big night from Underwood, the LSU commit. A week after Underwood became the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s all-time leader in career touchdown passes, he threw three more Friday night in Belleville’s 49-22 victory against Dearborn.
Underwood also had this rushing touchdown that had social media buzzing after he hauled in a high snap and zigzagged into the end zone.
Imagine going through school all day and then trying to stop Bryce Underwood (@BryceUnderwoo16)😂 pic.twitter.com/QqUw7X45D5
— Rivals (@Rivals) September 21, 2024
The “Revenge Tour,” as Belleville is calling this season after the Tigers lost in the state championship game last year, is off to a strong start. Belleville plays Franklin this week, a team it beat 42-3 last season.
Tavien St. Clair
School: Bellefontaine (Ohio) High
Committed to: Ohio StateRanking: No. 6 overall, No. 2 QB
Bellefontaine improved to 5-1 on Friday thanks to a 49-14 victory at Indian Lake. Something to monitor, though: St. Clair was injured in the second quarter, according to Cleveland.com. The five-star Ohio State commit finished the night with three touchdown passes and one interception in the first half, per the newspaper, before his younger brother took over. Reign St. Clair, a Class of 2028 prospect, competed 5 of 5 attempts for 56 yards and one touchdown in his first varsity action of the season.
Tavien St. Clair told Cleveland.com that he hurt his knee while being tackled from behind but that he’d “be all right.” Bellefontaine plays at London this week.
Keelon Russell
School: Duncanville (Texas) High
Committed to: AlabamaRanking: No. 11 overall, No. 3 QB
Russell had a big night in Duncanville’s 41-17 win over Waxahachie. The Alabama commit was 18-of-23 passing for 351 yards and six touchdowns, leading Duncanville to 20 second-quarter points after the score was tied 7-7 at the end of the first quarter.
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Russell’s top target was again five-star Oregon commit Dakorien Moore, who caught seven passes for 135 yards and two touchdowns.
Perhaps most impressive was how easy Russell made things look, including these two throws that showcased his versatility.
ELITE play by 5⭐️ QB Keelon Russell. @Pres1dential
The Alabama commit evades the rush and throws a 56-yard TD to 3⭐️ TE Zach Turner.
pic.twitter.com/PuONJSsMEY— MaxPreps (@MaxPreps) September 21, 2024
7:11 | 2Q
20 – Duncanville
7 – WaxahachieKeelon Russell finds Dakorien Moore for a 28-yard touchdown. PAT is no good. pic.twitter.com/TydQ18xDFH
— Duncanville High School Football 🏈 (@Duncanville_FB) September 21, 2024
Duncanville plays at Skyline this week, which should be a fun matchup to follow as Russell and Moore square off against Texas linebacker commit Elijah Barnes, the nation’s No. 74 prospect.
Julian Lewis
School: Carrollton (Ga.) High
Committed to: USCRanking: No. 15 overall, No. 4 QB
Another week, another blowout win for Carrollton. The Trojans are 6-0 after beating Parker 48-26 on Friday night. It marked the fourth consecutive game Carrollton has scored at least 40 points, and the Trojans’average margin of victory for the season is 29 points per game.
Lewis, the USC commit, had a quiet stat line, finishing the night 15-of-23 passing for 159 yards, one touchdown and one interception. For the season, he is 101-of-132 for 1,377 yards with 21 touchdowns and three interceptions. Carrollton is off this week before hosting Westlake on Oct. 4.
Deuce Knight
School: George County (Miss.) High
Committed to: Notre DameRanking: No. 29 overall, No. 5 QB
Knight has a hamstring injury and did not play Friday night in George County’s 27-24 loss to Vancleave. Knight was injured in the first quarter of George County’s Sept. 13 loss to Biloxi after attempting just seven passes. He will be re-evaluated Monday, George County coach James Ray said.
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In the meantime, eyes continue to be on Knight’s recruitment. The Notre Dame commit visited Auburn again over the weekend. The Tigers are a mess at quarterback, and coach Hugh Freeze blamed his playersafter Auburn’s loss to Arkansas. Can the Tigers flip Knight or will their struggles help Notre Dame hang on?
Husan Longstreet
School: Centennial (Calif.) High
Committed to: Ranking: No. 33 overall, No. 6 QB
Centennial beat Liberty High out of Arizona 63-39 on Saturday to extend its winning streak to three games.Longstreet threw four touchdown passes, two to Arizona State commit Cory Butler and two more to 2026 receiver Tyler George.
Centennial has won three of four games — all by double digits — since Longstreet missed the opener with an injury. The Huskies are off this week before traveling to Roosevelt on Oct. 3.
George MacIntyre
School: Brentwood (Tenn.) Academy
Committed to: TennesseeRanking: No. 60 overall, No. 8 QB
Brentwood Academy had its three-game winning streak snapped with a 41-9 loss to McCallie School out of Chattanooga. MacIntyre, the Tennessee commit, was just 15-of-24 passing for 159 yards and one touchdown, according to The Tennessean. He also threw a pick six in the second quarter as McCallie started to run away with the game.
The Eagles have another big game this week when they host Baylor School, also from Chattanooga, on Friday night. Baylor is 5-0 and has plenty of Power 4 talent on the roster. Four-star athlete Cameron Sparks is the headliner as the nation’s No. 177 prospect. He is joined by four-star Ole Miss running back commit Shekai Mills-Knight, three-star Tennessee wide receiver commit Joakim Dodson and three-star Georgia Tech offensive line commit Jimmy Bryson.
Madden Iamaleava
School: Long Beach Poly (Calif.) High
Committed to: UCLARanking: No. 126 overall, No. 10 QB
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The younger brother of Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava transferred back to Long Beach Poly this month in the final twist of his hectic high school career. Deuce Jefferson, a 2026 quarterback, has been starting for Long Beach Poly while Madden awaits clearance via the transfer process, according to the562.org. Iamaleava played in the season opener for Warren (Calif.) High on Aug. 23 but hasn’t played since.
Bryce Baker
School: East Forsyth (N.C.) High
Committed to: North Carolina
Ranking: No. 128 overall, No. 11 QB
Baker and East Forsyth are winning big. The Eagles are 4-0 and have scored at least 44 points in all four games. With a 69-21 win at Reagan on Friday, Baker doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
The UNC commit was 17-of-18 passing for 213 yards and four touchdowns. This after he went 29-of-38 for 482 yards with five TDs and one interception against A.C. Reynolds on Sept. 6. For the season, Baker is 79-of-100 passing for 1,288 yards with 14 touchdowns and one interception.
North Carolina, which fell apart against James Madison on Saturday, is in disarray after starting quarterback Max Johnson broke his leg in Week 1. For the sake of the program’s future, the Tar Heels must hang onto Baker, the top-ranked quarterback in the state.
KJ Lacey
School: Saraland (Ala.) High
Committed to: Texas
Ranking: No. 138 overall, No. 12 QB
Saraland is also 5-0 after a 34-12 win against McGill-Toolen on Friday. Lacey didn’t play Friday and told Rivals he’s dealing with an MCL sprainbut doesn’t expect to miss significant time.
Through his first four games, Lacey is 58-of-98 passing for 926 yards with 13 touchdowns and three interceptions.
Bonus
What a weekend for Louisville quarterback commit Mason Mims and Oxford (Ala.) High. Oxford trailed Mountain Brook 28-14 after three quarters on Friday, but Mims and the offense scored 15 unanswered points to win 29-28 on a successful two-point conversion. Mims, a three-star prospect who ranks No. 495 nationally, finished the night 30-of-43 passing for 354 yards and three touchdowns. One day later, his future Louisville team beat Georgia Tech 31-19. For the season, Mims is 106-of-146 passing for 1,521 yards and 13 touchdowns with zero interceptions.
(Photo of KJ Lacey: Mickey Welsh / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
Grace Raynor is a staff writer for The Athletic covering recruiting and southeastern college football. A native of western North Carolina, she graduated from the University of North Carolina. Follow Grace on Twitter @gmraynor
