Ever heard of beating someone at their own game? If not, Lincoln Riley is the perfect example. For months, Deion Sanders and Co. had been hot on their heels after Julian ‘JuJu’ Lewis as Shedeur Sanders’s replacement. 3 campus visits to the head coach personally holding meets with the five-star prospect and his father, all in vain, thanks to Lincoln Riley. Beating Deion Sanders at his own game, Riley took a tried-and-tested textbook strategy from Prime’s playbook to cement Lewis’s commitment to USC. Now, Prime is known to have great relationships with players’ parents and now it seems like Riley is also trying out the same strategy. The best part is that it is working!

“My dad and him [Riley] get along very well. I mean they probably talk more than I do,” Lewis revealed in his interview with ON3’s Josh Newberg. Throughout his visits, JuJu has been closely accompanied by his father, T.C. Lewis. Having put tremendous effort into forging his son as one of the finest players in Carrollton High School, naturally, JuJu’s father has a serious say in Lewis’s decision. Riley connecting to his father, to a point where they ‘probably talk more than Lewis does’, would be the game-changer for Riley.

The Georgia Native, who is touted as the No.2 QB in the 2025 class, committed to USC Trojans back in August 2023. However, Julian Lewis did not limit his options or interests to joining other schools as his visits to Colorado, Auburn, and Indiana. The situation became a pressing issue for Coach Riley, demanding a strongly influencing solution. Especially when Deion Sanders, too, has connected with Lewis’s father during their visits. Of course, Lewis’s commitment to USC is something to take note of as it marks the first of the Trojan’s class of 2026. Not to mention, the player has offers from top programs like Alabama, Ohio State, Texas, etc.

JuJu visited the Buffs ground for the last time on March 18. His father accompanied him to his strategic dinner with Deion Sanders during his first visit. During another visit, Julian Lewis shared a picture of his father and Deion Sanders deep in conversation, captioning it, “Thanks for always caring about what’s best for me.” Julian Lewis has always been a top name in the Shedeur Sanders replacement race in Colorado. However, now that Lincoln Riley also has Lewis’s father on his side, how will it change the narrative?

Can Lincoln Riley cement Julian Lewis’s commitment?

In the end, it would all boil down to the factors at play here. Since his father is involved in Lewis’s decision, the stakes of them leaning towards a school that promises a good NIL future for his son are high. The Carrollton native knows that Colorado would be a perfect place to satiate their NIL wants. If Lincoln Riley can assure Lewis in the NIL department, that would be another score against Deion Sanders.

Since Lewis “loved the energy from Boulder” from his visits to Colorado, he is set to visit the Buffs training ground once more for 2 days between June 21-23 as an official visit along with other recruits. However, his former visits have given him enough perspective to form a strong opinion about Sanders. JuJu knows what he would be signing up for if he flipped to the Buffs. “Talking to Coach Shurmur and Shedeur, they want me to make the best decision for me, but made it clear that I have the opportunity to play early,” Lewis had confessed back in April during his initial visits.

Hence, Riley would also need to explain the importance of the role JuJu would be playing at USC and what he would get out of it. Laying all the cards down in front of the five-star prospect and re-iterating his importance at USC looks like a fitting way for Riley to make Lewis stay.