K.J. Lacey’s big week: Signing with Texas, Super 7, going for passing record

 

 

By JIMMY WIGFIELD

SARALAND — The influence of Saraland quarterback K.J. Lacey is not only going to be felt for years to come in the state of Alabama but well outside of it, Spartans coach Jeff Kelly said Wednesday after Lacey signed with Texas.

“K.J.’s got an extremely bright future ahead of him,” Kelly said. “Those same things that make him special here, they don’t just go away when you get to college. He’s going to be a program changer for the University of Texas and he’s going to lead them to a ton of wins.”

But first, Lacey is approaching the night of a lifetime Friday when Saraland plays Parker for the Class 6A state championship in Birmingham. Lacey could win his second Blue Map in three years and become the state’s all-time leading passer in his final high school game.

Kelly said Lacey — who has 10,759 career passing yards and 130 touchdowns and will go into the game 266 yards away from surpassing Piedmont’s Jack Hayes as the state’s record holder — should already be considered the best to play the position in the state.

“I think he’s the best high school quarterback who’s ever played in Alabama,” Kelly said. “I think time will prove that. If he didn’t have the injury here this year and missed two games, we’d be talking about him as already number one. And if he played on a team that wasn’t as dominant as the one he’s played on, he’s been, at times, the victim of our own success. You look at the last three years the amount of times where we’ve been up by 50 or 60 points and it’s just not the right thing to do to continue to have your foot on the pedal. He already is the best (quarterback) in our state’s history.”

Lacey — a four-star prospect who is 39-2 as the Spartans’ starter and is rated the No. 18 quarterback nationally in On3’s composite — never wavered after committing to Texas last year and said the deep relationships he built with Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian and quarterbacks coach A.J. Milwee counted for much of his decision.

“Texas has been there all the way through my recruiting process, since after the (2022) state championship,” he said. “Those relationships that I’ve built all the way around, coach Sark, coach Milwee, I know they’ll be able to do what they want to do with me, just making me the best player that I can be. I feel like that’s where I need to be at.”

Lacey said Sarkisian’s reputation of developing pro players also drew him to Texas.

“Out of everywhere I’ve been, since my first visit down there, that’s where I wanted to be at,” he said. “It felt like home since I got there. And it’s like an NFL system. Once you go to the draft, there’s no doubt in anybody’s mind that you’re going to be able to play on any team in the league. Just him as a person is really one of the main things I loved about Texas. Being around a great person like that, a great businessman, everything that he does, I feel like that’s what I need to be at.”

Sarkisian said the end game for Texas signees is simple.

“I think that we’ve tried to build quality relationships with the recruits that we are recruiting, so that they understand, hey, when you come to the University of Texas, get used to playing in championship games, get used to preparing for the College Football Playoff,” Sarkisian said.

Lacey does not expect to be redshirted his first year and is ready to compete with Arch Manning as the starter if Quinn Ewers makes himself available for the 2025 NFL Draft.

“I’m going to work my butt off, go out there and play as good as I can,” Lacey said.

As of late Wednesday, Lacey was part of the nation’s No. 1-ranked recruiting class, according to On3 and 247Sports. Texas has three five-star, 14 four-star and seven three-star signees.

Kelly — who said two years ago that the nation should best remember Lacey’s name — also expects him to make his mark on college football.

“I think K.J. is the best quarterback in the country,” Kelly said. “He’s going to play big-time ball out in Texas. He’s going to do amazing things.”

Lacey plays the way he does for more than himself and his teammates. He grew emotional before signing with the Longhorns as he remembered the impact on his life of his grandfather, Robert Lacey, who died of COVID-19 just before the start of his freshman season at Daphne.

“He was always there for us, since we were kids,” Lacey said as tears trickled down his face. “He held our family together. Once he passed away, I was a freshman and I had to figure out what I had to do all the way around. He had told me I was going to be the best ever, so that’s what I’m going to go out there and do.”

Lacey’s father, Karle, said the bond between his son and his late father has been a motivational force.

“He meant a whole lot,” Karle Lacey said. “He went to all his games. He ended up catching COVID and he died and didn’t get to see any of this right here. K.J. keeps him in his screensaver. He’s doing it for his granddad.”

Lacey said his pursuit of the state’s all-time passing record will not be a distraction in the Super 7 finals against Parker.

“Once I’m in the game, my head’s focused on winning,” he said. “That’s it. Go out there and do whatever I’ve got to do. If I’ve got to go out there and pass for 300 yards, I’m gonna do it. Run for 300 yards, whatever I have to do, I’m gonna go do it. I’m going to get my teammates involved. Our defense is going to keep us in the game and we’re going to keep them in the game. Our coaches are going to coach their butts off and make sure we’re out there doing the right thing.”

Lacey said he is savoring the test Saraland will get as Class 6A’s most prolific offense attacks Class 6A’s best defense against the score.

“We kinda know who we wanted to play all year,” he said. “They’ve been that team up north, we’ve been the team down south.”

Kelly knows his team is in good hands.

“You can have every statistical accolade out there and he’s got them all,” Kelly said, “but the leadership is what I love. A quarterback is judged by winning and losing. And K.J. is a competitive winner who raises the level of play of every player and coach around him. He’s been the common denominator through all of it the last three years. When you look at the run here, it’s been a historic run, especially offensively. He’s been the guy pulling the trigger and leading the way. And I’m so proud to see him just through the years not ever be complacent.”

Kelly said Lacey makes him want to be at his best to coach such a talent.

“It ain’t necessarily want to, it’s you’ve got to,” Kelly said. “When you have a player who’s competitive and soaks in every amount of coaching and correction, he wants to know the answers. He wants to know the whys. He wants to understand how defenses operate. He wants to know how we’re attacking and why we’re attacking. And as a coach, you’ve got to be prepared and you’ve got to make sure as a coach you can’t ever get complacent either. You’ve got to continually find new ways to grow as an offense. You can’t just continue to do the same stuff over and over because sooner or later, even when you’re at the top of the game, people are going to catch up to you. What we’ve tried to do during this stretch is to continually evolve and continually find different ways to attack.”

Kelly said he doesn’t have to waste much time correcting any of the rare errors Lacey makes.

“Very rarely,” he said. “He makes very few mistakes but if he does, he don’t make them twice. I want him to be aggressive. I want him to play aggressive and push the envelope and find out what he can do, what he can get away with and what he can’t.”