Julian Lewis. A five-star quarterback and one of the top prospects in the Class of 2025. Every program he’s interested in is vying for him to confirm his spot on their roster. He may have committed to USC last year, but since then, Auburn has emerged as a strong contender. But perhaps the strongest is Colorado. Lewis may not have de-committed from USC and committed to the Buffaloes, but there’s no question that Coach Prime already sees him as a potential successor for his son, Shedeur. So, as the 16-year-old prepares to become the next big thing, you can’t help but wonder who’s been in his corner since Day 1.

Who were the people who shaped him into this quarterback with impressive strength and speed on the field? Standing at 6’1” and weighing 185 pounds, he finished his sophomore year with 7,212 yards, 96 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. His parents are credited with providing the mental and physical support that has fueled his success. Here’s all that we know about them.

TC Lewis, JuJu’s father, raised him and spent his time on the UConn Huskies football team, while his grandfather, Ty Lewis, was a high school football coach. Seems like the love for football runs in the blood of the Lewis family. Though no information about Lewis’ mom is publicly available, she presumably likes keeping a low profile. But her low profile is well-balanced by Lewis’ dad, TC. He frequently appears on public forums to discuss his son’s career prospects.

Of course, Lewis has already made a significant impression on the college football scene even before starting his NCAA career. He was initially supposed to be in the Class of 2026. However, he decided to make his jump to college football a year early with the Class of 2025, and several programs lunged at the idea of recruiting him, including Colorado. In fact, Julian Lewis committed to USC last year, but in the months since, he has been exploring other programs, too. During all this chaos, TC is ensuring that this does not negatively affect JuJu, as a proud and protective father would.

Last month, during an interview on YouTube with The Network Advisory, TC disclosed his expectations as so many programs, including Indiana, Auburn, Los Angeles, and Colorado, are in line to recruit him. The thing is, it’s not just about convincing JuJu that a particular program is good for him. TC needs to be convinced, too. He said, “It’s foolish to assume anything. Like you gotta plan and prepare for everything in any scenario… The kid just wants an opportunity to walk into a situation where there’s not a cemented starter.”

As for TC Lewis, he finds similarities between himself, Coach Prime, and Pat Shurmur. “I think there’s a lot of reliability for [Coach Prime] and I. He’s a quarterback dad, Pat Shurmur’s a quarterback dad. People forget that. Not only are they coaches, but they’re fathers.” That said, the father-son duo never misses the chance to express what they feel for each other.

On June 3, TC’s birthday, JuJu posted a collage on his X account, which featured pictures of him and TC through the years – a trip down memory lane. JuJu captioned the post, “Happy birthday to the GOAT.” Did you also know he bought his father a car? NIL evaluation made it possible. The Georgia High School Athletic Association has allowed its student-athletes to profit from their NIL values.

Julian Lewis saw that as an opportunity to not just partner with national brands but also to look out for his family. Signing deals with Leaf Trading Cards, men’s jewelry brand Jaxxon, and Alo Yoga. Reflecting on his earnings, the quarterback told On3, “Shoot, money’s life. I’ve got to help provide for my family. I bought my first car. I bought my dad’s car. It’s definitely been a blessing to go through the process.”

Shows how strong the bond is between the two of them. While he shares a great bond with his family, Coach Prime sure hopes that Julian Lewis likes the Buffaloes enough to jump ship from the Trojans to the Buffaloes. One thing’s for sure, though. TC Lewis was really impressed with what was happening in Boulder during his visits with JuJu.

He shared, “The one thing I took from the last visit [to Boulder] is that the coach spent probably an hour and a half with Julian and I… the thing you take away from that, the more you’re around the program, is that’s probably one of the happiest groups of kids I’ve seen.” Who wouldn’t want their child to thrive in an environment like that? Well, ultimately, the decision lies with JuJu. But Colorado’s chances are looking good.

Colorado can become JuJu’s home for the foreseeable future

JuJu hasn’t shied away from expressing his feelings about Colorado and Deion Sanders as a coach. During his second visit to Colorado in June to meet up with Coach Prime and his team, JuJu expressed that he was impressed with the program during a post-meet-up interview. “Colorado has a lot of energy. Coach Prime is super positive and motivating. 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.”

Even during the latest visit, JuJu felt comfortable around Coach Prime, which is an indication of how the program really is. With Shedeur Sanders almost certainly entering the 2025 NFL Draft, the Colorado Buffaloes need someone to succeed the quarterback, and Deion believes that’s Julian Lewis. Recently, On3 dropped JuJu’s rating from a five-star to a four-star recruit. Coach Prime commented on whether or not that’ll affect their attempts to recruit the 16-year-old, saying, “We don’t care about rankings.”

It now just seems like a matter of time before JuJu commits to Colorado, as everything is pointing toward that. Even TC Lewis and Coach Prime have a great relationship. This relationship will also play a great role if JuJu decides to commit to Colorado. It’ll be exciting to see how this story develops in the next couple of months. Stay tuned to this space for more updates!