By JIMMY WIGFIELD
Saraland sophomore quarterback K.J. Lacey, who led all of Class 6A in passing during a state championship season, received a scholarship offer from Alabama Saturday, Lacey announced on his Twitter page.
Lacey has also received offers from Auburn, Texas A&M, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Miami but told the Call News in December he was waiting to hear from the Crimson Tide and wants to continue playing with five-star wideout Ryan Williams, a fellow sophomore who has already committed to Alabama.
“I’d like to get an Alabama offer,” Lacey said. “I want to stay together with Ryan. We’ve talked about that. Whatever I get, I’m thankful for. I’ll go where I fit in the best.”
Lacey, who turned 16 this month, said he was going to take his time reaching a decision.
The Alabama offer was the latest in a burst of offers received by Lacey since the Spartans won the Class 6A state championship by defeating Mountain Brook 38-17 on Dec. 2.
Lacey (6-1, 175) got his first SEC offer from South Carolina during the pregame warmups at the Super 7, then got offers from Auburn, Ole Miss and Florida State in rapid succession. Georgia Tech and Texas A&M followed.
Lacey has emerged as one of the top quarterbacks in the class of 2025 after completing 200 of 314 passes for 3,177 yards, 40 touchdowns and only five interceptions. He surpassed 200 yards passing in nine games and had at least four TD passes in six games. Lacey led Class 6A in passing yards this season and was third in the state overall.
“His recruiting took off,” Saraland coach Jeff Kelly said. “College coaches understand how bright his future could be. … The things he did this year are impressive regardless of his age or grade. … He’s beginning to come into his own and he will continue to grow. He’s not going to be content to be where he is at the moment. He will continue to chase excellence in all parts of his game.”
QB Country founder David Morris — who has worked with Lacey since third grade and who tutored Eli Manning, Georgia’s Stetson Bennett, Arkansas’ K.J. Jefferson, Duke’s Riley Leonard, North Carolina’s Drake May and NFL quarterbacks Jake Fromm and Gardner Minshew, among others — said Lacey is breaking new ground as the epitome of a modern quarterback.
“He can throw it as good as a lot of guys in college right now,” Morris said. “His arm is NFL (caliber) right now in terms of pure arm strength. He is 100 percent can’t miss. He’s as good as this state has ever seen and he’s not done developing. He’s ahead of his years from an anticipation and a pure arm standpoint. … Nothing is guaranteed, of course, and he’s got to stay healthy, stay out of trouble, stay humble and continue to work as hard as he has in the past. If he does that, the sky’s the limit.
“He’s not even a once-in-a-decade player. I’ve been doing this since 2004 and, at this age, there’s never been one like him.”