LSU Football Pushing to Flip No. 1 Quarterback in America Committed to SEC Rival

Los Angeles (Calif.) IMG Academy five-star quarterback Jayden Wade continues evaluating contenders in his recruitment process despite revealing a verbal commitment to Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs last fall.

Wade checks in as the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2028 Recruiting Cycle with programs from coast-to-coast fighting for his services this offseason after a dominant 2025 campaign on the prep scene.

The 6-foot-3, 185-pounder has reeled in offers from the likes of the Georgia Bulldogs, Texas Longhorns, Michigan Wolverines, Nebraska Cornhuskers, and Ohio State Buckeyes, among others.

But it's Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs coaching staff that currently holds the verbal commitment from Wade after revealing a pledge to the Bulldogs in November during his standout sophomore season.

“What stood out the most to me with Georgia is coach Kirby (Smart),” he told Rivals. “Georgia is a big cultural type of program and they always bring people in and they’re hardworking and everybody is on the same page and everybody wants to be great.

LSU Tigers Football: Jayden Wade. — Courtesy of Jayden Wade on X.

"When you’re around people that want to be great, that makes you want to be great and it spreads around to everybody.

“I had a great time with the coaches talking some ball when I went on the visit and watched their practice, the intensity they play with. Those are the key factors I see at Georgia.

“The offense is a really good offense. It’s very similar to the offense we run right now so if I go there I’d be very familiar with the offense. That’s one of the reasons why I wanted to go there. I love the way Gunner (Stockton) makes some plays and makes some throws so I could see myself doing that, too.”

But the commitment isn't slowing down other programs from intensifying their pursuits for the No. 1 prospect in America - including the LSU Tigers.

LSU head coach Lane Kiffin and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. made the call to the dynamic signal-caller last month with the Tigers turning up the heat in pursuit of a flip.

Tennessee and LSU are making a push for 2028 No. 1 overall recruit Jayden Wade, @ChadSimmons_ reports👀

The QB is committed to Georgia.

Read: https://t.co/W0qgwkXVyb pic.twitter.com/zJ8PsHFnSL
— Rivals (@Rivals) February 20, 2026

According to Rivals, it's the LSU Tigers and Tennessee Volunteers that are "making a push" for the No. 1 prospect in America.

Kiffin has been labeled a quarterback guru with Wade emerging as a prospect he's monitoring heading into the offseason.

It's early in Wade's process after rounding out his sophomore campaign in 2025, but Kiffin and Co. are looking to turn up the heat for the coveted Georgia commit with the program pushing to flip the top-ranked prospect.

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Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and LSU Tigers On SI: @LSUTigersSI for all coverage surrounding the LSU Tigers.