"It should be extremely fun" — Texas Longhorns' 4-star QB commit KJ Lacey hyped up for his Elite 11 finals at LA

The Texas Longhorns' future quarterback KJ Lacey is gearing up for an electrifying opportunity at the 2024 Elite 11 Finals in Los Angeles. The Longhorns commit will represent Saraland High as one of the top 20 quarterback recruits from the 2025 class who will converge for three days of intense competition, skill development and mentorship.

The Elite 11 Finals are celebrating their 25th year and are renowned for nurturing the next generation of quarterback talent through rigorous on-field drills, classroom sessions and personal growth activities. Lacey is ready to test his skills against the nation's finest young quarterbacks.

“Ready to learn a whole lot from the coaches," Lacey told On3. "Also being able to be a part of the Elite 11 is just still really cool to me. Been watching since the Trevor Lawrence and the Justin Fields episodes of it on YouTube. Should be extremely fun."

Last year, quarterback Julian Sayin won the Elite 11 MVP title. A Texas Longhorns quarterback has yet to win the title, and Lacey hopes to seize the opportunity.

"I want to go in and win,” Lacey told AOL. “That’s the main goal. I want to learn from the coaches who are there and soak up all the tips and tricks I can, implement them to my game and just have fun. But the main thing is to go out there and compete and try to win.”

The Elite 11 competition was founded in 1999 by Andy Bark and is now run by his company, Student Sports Inc. Lacey will join other Elite 11 finalists, including Alabama commit Keelon Russell, USC commit Julian Lewis and Texas A&M commit Husan Longstreet.

KJ Lacey balances commitment amid growing interest from Auburn and Ole Miss

KJ Lacey has received more than 30 offers, but he has been committed to the Longhorns for a year now. He remains loyal to Texas, but he is open to exploring other opportunities and is set to visit Auburn and Ole Miss.

"I’m going on this official visit this week,” Lacey said. “I just want to have fun up there and, hopefully, help land some commits while I’m there. I have to figure out after that if I’m going to take any more official visits. I just don’t know yet. There have been some other schools like Auburn and Ole Miss who want me to take visits."

Lacey told Touchdown Texas that he would like to "win a national championship, the Heisman trophy and be named all-first-team SEC," and he is aware of his potential as well.

"I’ve just told them I know where I stand with Texas, and I’ll get back with them if anything changes,” he said.

In 2023, Lacey finished as the Alabama 6A runner-up for Saraland after completing 219 of 315 passes for 3,448 yards with 42 touchdowns and eight interceptions, adding five rushing touchdowns. He led Saraland to an Alabama 6A state title as a sophomore, completing 200 of 314 passes for 3,177 yards, with 40 touchdowns and five interceptions in 15 games, and adding four rushing touchdowns during the season in 2022.