West Coast recruiting: QB flips help USC and Colorado while Cal hangs on (for now) and UCLA readies for a huge night

The Hotline is delighted to provide college football fans with a regular dive into the recruiting process through the eyes and ears of Brandon Huffman, the Seattle-based national recruiting editor for 247Sports. He submitted the following report on Nov. 20 …

QB dominoes fall

“And here we go.” – Joker, The Dark Knight

Sunday was the day the dominoes started to fall.

Longtime USC quarterback pledge Julian Lewis, a four-star prospect from Georgia, confirmed the worst-kept secret in recruiting: that he would be de-committing.

Fresh off an unofficial visit to Athens for Georgia’s win over Tennessee, Lewis opened up his recruitment. He didn’t commit anywhere immediately (more on that later) but instead simply parted ways with the Trojans.

The other rumored move indicated Husan Longstreet, the five-star quarterback from Centennial High School in Corona, California, would flip his own commitment from Texas A&M to the Trojans — once Lewis and USC divorced, that is.

And mere minutes after Lewis’ de-commitment was announced, word came that Longstreet would, in fact, stay in the Southland and sign with USC.

With Longstreet rated higher than Lewis in the 247Sports composite rankings, Trojans coach Lincoln Riley was able to upgrade at the position and didn’t even have to leave Southern California to make it happen.

Meanwhile, Lewis committed to Colorado on Thursday and likely will slide into the role vacated by Shedeur Sanders, who will depart for the NFL after this season.

Cal’s Hail Mary

Georgia had expected to follow up Lewis’ visit with another major quarterback prospect on campus: Jaron Keawe Sagapolutele, the No. 1 recruit in Hawaii.

Instead, the Cal pledge will be in Berkeley this weekend to watch the Bears play Stanford.

Sagapolutele took his official visit to Berkeley in June and committed shortly thereafter. But a huge senior season, in which he broke Dillon Gabriel’s state passing record, led to scholarship offers from Oregon and Georgia.

He took an official visit to Oregon last month, and the Bulldogs expect him in Athens: He’s slated to take an official visit for their regular-season finale against Georgia Tech.

But having one last chance to convince Sagapolutele to stick with Cal is significant. The Bears hope to convince him to cancel the Georgia visit.

A decision will need to happen sooner or later, though. With the NCAA’s early signing period scheduled to begin on Dec. 4, two weeks earlier than in prior years, official visits that unfold on Thanksgiving weekend bleed right into the week of signing day.

Cal has a backup plan just in case it loses Sagapolutele. The Bears have offered current San Jose State commit Li’atama Amisone who, like Sagapolutele, is from Hawaii. They likely won’t take a commitment from him until they know, once and for all, what Sagapolutele will do.

And they’d like nothing more than to hear Sagapolutele declare that he’s staying with the Bears.

Trojans land intriguing defender

Lost amidst the excitement of Longstreet’s flip was the commitment to USC by Oklahoma defensive lineman Cash Jacobsen.

Jacobsen is an intriguing prospect. He was originally committed to defending FCS national champion South Dakota State, but his senior-season film transformed the recruiting process. Both Oklahoma and USC entered the pursuit.

Jacobsen decided to be like Riley and head to Los Angeles to play.

UW’s 2025-26 commits

While flips from non-quarterbacks aren’t greeted with the same excitement, there was plenty of buzz when Washington coach Jedd Fisch landed a commitment from longtime San Diego State pledge Quaid Carr.

The three-star running back took an official visit to Montlake last weekend. It didn’t hurt Washington’s cause that Carr plays for Servite High School in Anaheim — the same program that produced Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan, who signed with Fisch during his tenure at Arizona.

The Huskies also got a commitment from a top-five recruit within the state: receiver Terrance Saryon, a member of the 2026 class.

Saryon attends Evergreen High School in Vancouver — smack between Seattle and Eugene. It appeared he would follow his former Plainsmen teammate Fox Crader to Oregon but instead chose to play for the Huskies.

UCLA’s big moment

A quarter century after DeShaun Foster’s memorable debut against USC as a freshman running back for UCLA — he scored four touchdowns — Foster will make his coaching debut in the rivalry.

And he’ll do it in front of the largest collection of recruits to watch the Bruins in recent memory.

Foster told the media at Wednesday’s practice that UCLA expects nearly 700 prospects in Pasadena on Saturday night.

That includes several Class of 2025 commitments but, more importantly, many key 2026 and 2027 targets of both schools. They will see if the Bruins can continue their upward trajectory in the second half of the season.

*** Send suggestions, comments and tips (confidentiality guaranteed) to wilnerhotline@bayareanewsgroup.com or call 408-920-5716

*** Follow Huffman on the social media platform X via @BrandonHuffman and support @AveryStrongDIPG

*** Follow me on the social media platform X: @WilnerHotline