Commit Fit: How the top 2025 QBs fit with their future programs
National Signing Day is often about getting the biggest names in a recruiting class but it’s also about getting the right players that fit your system. Here are five quarterbacks that are in a great spot in this Commit Fit look.
DEUCE KNIGHT, Auburn
It would be interesting to hear Hugh Freeze if he was given truth serum about whether he regrets not going back to the transfer portal for a quarterback last cycle since the Tigers’ quarterback play has not been great this season. Payton Thorne’s numbers were fine but anybody who watched a lot of Auburn football can easily tell Freeze’s offense wasn’t running smoothly all season.
Freeze deserves some blame for all that but he has also shown throughout his career that he can call an offense if he has the weapons and Knight is a very interesting weapon. The four-star lefty has one of the smoothest releases in the class and when things are going well, Knight absolutely has five-star potential.
Some Auburn quarterbacks have already hit the portal after Knight signed with the Tigers which is setting up nicely for the lefty to compete early on. With so many elite receivers and with a great play-caller, Knight has all the talent in the world to put Freeze’s vision into practice.
KJ LACEY, Texas
Make no mistake: After this season, this is Arch Manning’s team. But when Manning leaves for the NFL, Lacey would be a phenomenal replacement and he has so many playmaking tools for coach Steve Sarkisian to use, the good times could keep rolling in Austin.
Lacey is a ton different than Quinn Ewers and Manning and while he’s not a traditional dual-threat quarterback who has many designed runs called for him, Lacey is best making plays out of the pocket and finding receivers down the field. There were always questions whether the four-star QB could keep putting up big numbers without star receiver Ryan Williams at Saraland, Ala., and Lacey answered all those questions this season.
Completing more than 63 percent of his passes for 2,817 yards with 38 touchdowns and six picks (while also having a 1,000-yard rusher on his team) was an impressive senior season. In 7-on-7 season, Lacey was lackluster and didn’t show all his tools. But he’s no doubt a gamer and with an even more inventive offense in Austin, Lacey should thrive even more in that system.
JULIAN LEWIS, Colorado
Lewis is stepping into some big shoes to replace probable first-round NFL Draft pick Shedeur Sanders. The Buffaloes have 35 passing TDs this season to lead the conference, five more than Texas Tech, which leads the conference in scoring.
What’s funny is that Lewis would have been a great fit in USC’s offense under Lincoln Riley if he kept that commitment but a flip to Colorado does not hurt him, either. It certainly wasn’t a snap decision as a ton of research – and visits to Boulder – went into the pick.
The family had to be sure coach Deion Sanders was staying after his sons and Travis Hunter left for the NFL. The five-star quarterback had to also love the offensive coordinator and after meeting with Pat Shurmur numerous times that box was checked. Bringing in more playmakers at receiver will also be crucial but Sanders has never been one to shy away from the portal.
Lewis is smart, savvy, confident and well-seasoned from a young age. If Sanders gives him the keys in Colorado, then the Buffaloes’ offense should only keep rolling.
JARON SAGAPOLUTELE, Oregon
Sagapolutele grew up idolizing Marcus Mariota. He has watched Dillon Gabriel’s success at Oregon this season as the Ducks are the No. 1 team in the country. So when it came down to crunch time and the Ewa Beach (Hawaii) Campbell standout needed to make his final decision it wasn’t a shock at all that Sagapolutele flipped from Cal to Oregon.
It’s very likely that when Gabriel leaves that former five-star Dante Moore, who transferred to Oregon from UCLA with the intention of sitting a year behind Gabriel before taking over, is next in line in Eugene.
But Sagapolutele down the road has all the tools to not only be Oregon’s starter but to be one of the better quarterbacks in college football. He has size and great arm talent. He was the surprise of the Elite 11 this summer and playing for the Ducks has been a dream come true. It could all be coming together for him.
BRYCE UNDERWOOD, Michigan
One of the many things that Underwood has going for him at Michigan, other than being an elite talent, is that the Wolverines’ quarterback play this season was so sub-standard that any progress will be welcomed immediately. And Underwood has all the tools to immediately bolster the position and bring a level of athleticism and playmaking ability that was just not possible for Sherrone Moore‘s team this season.
Underwood has the size, arm talent, confidence and toughness to thrive in Michigan’s system if Moore is willing to open his offense up a little bit more and not rely on the running game so much. That will still be a question only play-calling next season can answer.
The Wolverines have run the ball 435 times and passed it just 293. Last season with first-round NFL Draft pick JJ McCarthy, Michigan ran it 202 times more than throwing it including 32-straight runs in a win at Penn State en route to a national championship.
Underwood is too talented to be a hand-off machine. Moore knows it but can he get away from running the ball so much? The five-star quarterback is coming to Ann Arbor to make plays, open up the offense a little bit and spark the QB position which was bogged down this season.
