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Blake Baumgartner, ESPN Staff Writer
Texas manager Steve Sarkisian scored a major victory on the recruiting front Saturday after quarterback KJ Lacy secured his first appearance in the 2025 class.
Lacey, No. 47 in the 2025 ESPN Junior 300, joins Arch Manning (No. 5 overall in 2023) as the top-rated quarterback to sign with the Longhorns in three hiring cycles.
A native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Lacy will begin school in early January 2025. He also had offers from Alabama, Oregon, Auburn, Colorado, Florida, Miami, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas A&M.
“He’s really a consistent, attacking head coach. I like that,” Lacey told ESPN last month about what he’s prioritizing along the way. “And we also have a really good quarterback coach and offensive coordinator, so he knows he can go there and improve.
“The outside community [football]try to be comfortable with everyone outside [football]. Let’s get used to it. Commit to everything. Go there, take my visit, go see the game all the time. So just knowing that I’m working hard, I can adapt quickly. “
Lacy made the announcement on social media on Saturday.
“They asked me, ‘Why Texas?'” I say, ‘Why not Texas? 』 said in the post.
Texas averaged 429.5 yards per game last season, finishing fifth in the Big 12. Quinn Ewers (2,177 yards and 15 touchdowns in 10 games in 2022) and Manning will be battling for starting positions in the fall as the program ends. Brilliantly into the Big 12.
The Longhorns, who will start playing in the SEC in 2024 alongside Oklahoma, haven’t won 10 games in a season since 2018.
Lacey, a teammate of Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams (2025 No. 3 overall) at Saraland High School in Alabama, was in Austin this weekend when the decision was made.
The 6-foot, 175-pound Lacy completed 63.7 percent for 3,177 yards and 40 touchdowns in 2022 as a sophomore.
“I play really calm,” Lacey said. “You don’t get too upset while you’re in the game. If you get the ball to the open players, you get the ball to the playmakers, you can go out and win the game.”