CHICAGO (December 6, 2024) — In its 40th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Julian 'Ju Ju' Lewis of Carrollton High School is the 2024-25 Gatorade Georgia Football Player of the Year. Lewis is the first Gatorade Georgia Football Player of the Year to be chosen from Carrollton High School.
Gatorade Player of the Year is the top honor in high school sports, celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes for their success on the field, in the classroom and in the community. The award distinguishes Lewis as Georgia’s best high school football player, and he joins an impressive group of alumni that spans CEOs, coaches and star athletes such as Emmitt Smith (1986-87, Escambia High School, Fl.), Peyton Manning (1993-94, Isidore Newman School, La.) and DJ Lagway (2023-24, Willis High School, Texas).
At the time of his selection, the state’s returning Gatorade Player of the Year, the 6-foot-1, 175-pound senior quarterback had led the Trojans to a 13-0 record and a berth in the Class 7A state semifinals. Lewis completed 222- of-293 passes for 3,272 yards and 44 touchdowns against just four interceptions through 13 games. Ranked as the No. 2 recruit in the Class of 2025 by ESPN.com, he entered the state semifinals with 10,498 passing yards and 140 touchdowns through the air in his prep football career.
Lewis has volunteered locally as part of multiple fundraising efforts for Raising Love, which benefits foster children in Georgia. He has also donated his time as a youth football coach. “Julian Lewis is a special player,” said John Small, head coach of East Coweta High School. “He is one of the best QBs I have seen at the high school level. He has great arm talent and also has incredible touch. He makes everyone around him better.”
Lewis has maintained an A average in the classroom. At the time of his selection, he had made a verbal commitment to receive athletic aid to play football at the University of Colorado next fall.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states across 12 different high school sports – football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field – and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which leverages experts including coaches, scouts, media and others as sources to help evaluate and determine the state winners in each sport.
Two-time winner Lewis joins recent Gatorade Georgia Football Players of the Year Caleb Downs (2022-23, Mill Creek High School), Gunner Stockton (2021-22, Rabun County High School) and Brock Vandagriff (2020-21, Prince Avenue Christian School), among the state’s list of former award winners.
As part of Gatorade’s commitment to breaking down barriers in sport, every Player of the Year also receives a grant to donate to a social impact partner. To date, the Gatorade Player of the Year program has provided more than $5.6 million in grants to winners across more than 2,000 organizations.
To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate student - athletes, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com or follow us on social media on Instagram at instagram.com/Gatorade, Facebook at facebook.com/GatoradePOY and X(Twitter) at x.com/Gatorade.
