USC has had its 2025 quarterback locked up since August of 2023.

Unfortunately for Lincoln Riley and the Trojans, it seems that Colorado head coach Deion Sanders has found the key.

According to 247Sports’ Tom Loy, Carrollton (Ga.) High quarterback Julian Lewis is trending toward a flip. The national recruiting analyst said on Friday that he did not expect Lewis to sign with USC and, on Sunday, Loy put in a Crystal Ball prediction for Lewis to flip his pledge to Colorado.

There had been buzz leading into the weekend that Lewis might take a visit to Indiana, but that visit did not materialize and Loy said on Friday during the 247Sports College Football Show that effectively ended the courtship of Lewis for Indiana.

Colorado, like USC, has a clear and obvious need at quarterback in 2025. Shedeur Sanders is widely expected to enter the 2025 NFL Draft after this season, which would open the door for a new CU starter in 2025.

Lewis is a 5-star prospect in the industry-generated 247 Composite. He’s the fifth-ranked quarterback and the No. 31 overall prospect in the class.

He won the MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year award in 2022 and the MaxPreps National Sophomore of the Year award in 2023. Through those 2 campaigns, he threw for 7,212 yards and 96 touchdowns against just 14 picks.

Through 10 games of his junior season, Lewis has 2,549 passing yards and 36 touchdowns. He’s completing a career-high 77% of his passes with only 4 interceptions. His Trojans open play in the Georgia state playoffs on Friday.

The Early Signing Period opens on Dec. 4. If USC loses Lewis, Riley will be in limbo.

Lewis is the top-ranked recruit in the Trojans’ class, which currently sits in the top 10 nationally. He’s the only Composite 5-star pledge. More importantly, he’s the only quarterback in the class.

Riley could look to flip another quarterback before Dec. 4. All but 1 of the top 39 ranked quarterbacks in the 2025 class are publicly committed somewhere. Or, he could once again focus on a portal quarterback.

At 4-5 and hoping for a spark, the Trojans are turning to UNLV transfer Jayden Maiva at quarterback this weekend against Nebraska. That move has reportedly pushed Miller Moss out the door.

Maiava will have multiple years of eligibility remaining after this season comes to a close. He could be the longterm answer, but, he was beaten out by Moss to start the year, so there’s a degree of uncertainty there.

USC did not sign a high school quarterback in the 2024 class. Its 2023 signee at the position, Malachi Nelson, transferred to Boise State earlier this year.