Saraland quarterback KJ Lacey is about to log some frequent flyer miles.

In the next two weeks, the Texas commit will be in the Elite 11 QB finals in Los Angeles, take an official visit to Austin, Texas, and participate in the Rivals 5-star came in Jacksonville, Fla.

“I won’t be home for like two or three weeks,” he joked Monday.

The first leg of the journey starts Tuesday when Lacey leaves for L.A. to compete with 19 other Class of 2025 quarterbacks from across the nation in the Elite 11, considered the by many as the premier high school quarterback event in the nation.

The Elite 11 runs Tuesday-Thursday.

“I want to go in and win,” Lacey said. “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 20 quarterbacks this week will participate in on-field drills, classroom instruction and off-field development. At the end of the three days, officials will name the 2024 Elite 11 along with the MVP. Other quarterbacks competing include USC commit and Auburn target Julian Lewis of Carrollton, Ga., Alabama commit Keelon Russell of Duncanville, Texas and Notre Dame commit Deuce Knight of George County, Miss. Lacey and Knight squared off in the 2023 season opener when Saraland outlasted Lipscomb Academy (Tenn.).

“I know a lot of the guys who are going to be out there,” Lacey said. “I’ve worked out with the majority of them. I’ve seen them play. I don’t know them all, but I’m looking forward to building relationships and just getting stronger as a quarterback.”

The 6-foot, 175-pound Lacey, who has been committed to the Longhorns for a year, is the No. 13-rated quarterback in the nation, according to 247 sports. The 247 composite rankings have him currently as the seventh-best senior prospect overall in Alabama and the top quarterback in the state.

“I’ve been very blessed to coach a lot of good ones here, and there have been a lot of good quarterbacks to come out of this area,” Saraland coach Jeff Kelly said. “I think KJ has a chance to be the best to come out of this area in a long time — just the way he leads a team, the way he sees defenses and the ability he has to — not only make the throws — but also the different ways to get it done. He can play the position on schedule or, when it breaks down, he can really make some big things happen. His ability to create and make plays off script gives him a great advantage against opposing defense. But he also can take three steps, read the coverage and deliver it on time and accurately in the proper window.”

The Alabama Sports Writers Association selected him as the Class 6A first-team All-State quarterback each of the last two seasons. In 2023, he completed 70 percent of his passes for 3,448 yards and 42 touchdowns. He was intercepted just 8 times. He also scored five rushing touchdowns. He was one of three finalists for Class 6A Back of the Year along with former teammate Ryan Williams and Clay-Chalkville’s Jaylen Mbakwe.

“I think the last two years a lot of people have focused on myself and Ryan out there,” Lacey said. “I feel like this year there might be more pressure on me with Ryan gone, but I have a lot of talent around me. My teammates and I will be ready to go out there and play every game and prepare for every game and be ready for whatever comes at us.”

Lacey said one of his goals this offseason has been to show off his arm strength more. He’ll clearly have a chance to do that against the nation’s best this week.

“I’ve been working on just keeping my base and producing more power,” he said. “I feel like a lot of the stuff people have seen me produce has come outside the pocket and throwing on the run, but they may question my arm power. Honestly, I feel like I have one of the strongest arms in the class. I want people to see I can put thump behind my passes and not just use the touch pass.”

Lacey will travel from Los Angeles to Austin, Texas, later in the week for his official visit with the Longhorns. He said his commitment is still firm with Texas though he mentioned Auburn and Ole Miss as other programs who have shown an interest lately.

“I’m going on this official visit this week,” he 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. I’ve just told them I know where I stand with Texas, and I’ll get back with them if anything changes.”

Following his OV this weekend, Lacey heads to Jacksonville, Fla., to work out with other junior and senior quarterbacks. Kelly said Lacey has a chance to be a “program-changing type guy” on the college level.

“He’s going to work extremely hard to be prepared,” Kelly said. “He’s going to have his body prepared to go and, as he gets comfortable, he will have a chance to continue to be the type player he has been up to this point at the high school level. I see him having a ton of success at the next level. I think he has a chance to really take a program to the top of that level.”

Enterprise coach Ben Blackmon agrees with Kelly. Blackmon coached against Saraland in the spring game each of the last two years.

“That quarterback is special,” he said. “I would be hard pressed to find a better quarterback in the state of Alabama. He gets the ball out quick. He doesn’t make bad decisions, throws it away when he is supposed to, has the ability to run when it’s open and has some weapons around him at wide receiver. He’s going to be tough to beat.”