Column: Oklahoma Loses QB Prospect to LSU, But Was it a Shock? And is it Forever?

Peyton Houston’s commitment to LSU on Monday came as a bit of a surprise.

Of the four or five schools the 4-star quarterback has been seriously considering, LSU arrived late to the party.

Houston had OU, Texas, USC and Clemson as his favorites, but it was LSU who swept in late and kept him home.

Oklahoma has long been considered Houston’s favorite, although the 2027 prospect made everything official (for now) just today: OU will not get his services (for now).

But while the unsurprising part is out in the open — elite Louisiana kids just don’t get away from LSU, and one way or another a 4-star QB from Shreveport has always been on the Tigers’ radar — there’s another element to this equation.

Did Oklahoma get outbid at the last minute?

Did OU’s NIL and revenue sharing package for a 4-star 2027 quarterback — prepared and finalized by general manager Jim Nagy and his personnel staff and signed off on by Brent Venables and Ben Arbuckle — come up short of LSU’s offer?

Houston Loved Everything About OU

Houston has been an OU priority for going on two years now.

At the Brent Venables Elite Camp in June, Houston told Sooners On SI that Oklahoma was just “different,” among other praises he had for the Crimson and Cream.

“They really believe in God here, and that’s what they build their program on,” Houston said. “That’s a big thing for me, I go to a Christian school. Knowing without God, I wouldn’t be in this position, going to a school with the same foundation is very big.”

Houston visited OU frequently. Shreveport is just 5 1/2 hours from Norman, and he had gotten a real taste not only of the culture Venables has instilled at OU, but also enjoyed what he saw of Arbuckle’s offense.

“It’s different, for sure,” Houston said. “It’s a great atmosphere. I’m ready to see what this new atmosphere looks like with the new coaching staff, too.”

Now, of course, the Sooners are 3-0 and ranked No. 11 heading into this week’s SEC opener against Jackson Arnold and the No. 22-ranked Auburn Tigers. Arbuckle’s entire playbook hasn’t been unveiled yet — not in non-conference play. But Houston has seen enough of it so far that he’s watched quarterback John Mateer earn not only SEC Player of the Week accolades but also several national player of the week nods for his dual-threat performance in the dominating win over Michigan.

Mateer has been anointed by some as the new Heisman favorite as he and Arbuckle have breathed new life into what had devolved into a dead offense. OU is 40th in total offense and 62nd in scoring, but ranks 14th nationally in passing.

Meanwhile, LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier’s star has fallen some, from preseason Heisman favorite to a QB that ranks 47th nationally in passing yards and isn’t in the top 54 in touchdown passes. LSU is 2-0 with wins over Clemson and Florida, but the LSU offense ranks 82nd in yards per game, 107th in scoring and 55th in passing.

So yeah, it looks on the surface an awful lot like LSU won the day for Houston with two things: one is simple geographic proximity (and, with a little more complexity, influence the program might have with in-state prospects and the high schools and communities that produce them), and the other is a superior monetary valuation.

It’s the second item that can and should change wildly between now and when Houston actually signs 15 months from now.

Was OU’s NIL/rev share package their bottom line, take-it-or-leave-it, final offer? Not likely. Not with more than a year left until Houston gets on a college campus.

Continuing the Chase, or On to Plan B?

No doubt Arbuckle and Venables and Nagy will keep recruiting him — maybe not in a full-court press mode, but certainly to some extent. They’ll find more donors in the OU community who are willing to spend on a tantalizing QB, even if he just a high school junior at the moment. Six months from now, OU will be able to offer more money, if that’s what Houston wants.

But by then, a full-on pursuit of the Sooners’ Plan B QB will be underway — and no, they would never admit that anyone they recruit and sign was a backup plan.

Still, that’s the nature of recruiting elite-level quarterbacks. Just ask Brock Vandegriff and Caleb Williams.

As of now, it'll have to suffice that Oklahoma has a verbal commitment from DFW 4-star Bowe Bentley in the 2026 class. Bentley checks a lot of boxes and could be one of the rare ready-to-play talents when he gets to campus in January.

Houston is a pure passer with a big arm. And he can run with the ball. As a sophomore at Evangel Christian Academy last year, Houston threw for 4,480 yards, 38 touchdowns and six interceptions on 70 percent passing while also rushing for 660 yards and seven touchdowns.

But at 5-foot-11, he’s drawn natural comparisons to another former Sooner QB who was a long-time target but ended up signing elsewhere: Kyler Murray.

Houston is nowhere the speedster that Murray was coming out of Allen, TX, but he’s shifty, elusive, instinctive, and then delivers big plays with his big arm.

And, as history teaches us, Murray eventually wound up at the school he always wanted to go to, with the coach he always wanted to play for.

And whether it was baseball money or football money, Murray wound up being paid exactly what he was worth — money that was paid for his otherworldly performances even more than his astounding potential.