Nation's No. 1 QB Recruit Expected to Disappoint Major SEC Programs

The most promising quarterback in the 2027 college football recruiting class is predictably getting serious interest from several elite programs, but could be narrowing his own priority to one SEC blue blood, according to new expert predictions.

Five-star Baton Rouge (La.) quarterback Elijah Haven has heard from a number of prominent programs during his process, but his decision could leave some of the best schools in the SEC looking for answers elsewhere if those projections are right.

Who’s in the lead?

Right now, the expert consensus is centered around Alabama, which appears to be the overwhelming favorite to eventually sign the best quarterback in the country.

“No team has made a bigger impression,” Rivals recruiting expert Sam Spiegelman said.

Recruiting insider Steve Wiltfong added: “Alabama has been the clear favorite going back to the fall,” and that “the Tide remain at the top for the five-star signal caller.”

“Haven has pushed back his commitment plans numerous times but by process of elimination, the Crimson Tide still look like the strongest,” recruiting analyst Adam Gorney noted.

Tide is rolling

Few programs nationally are doing better than Alabama when looking over the latest 2027 college football recruiting rankings average.

Kalen DeBoer’s program ranks No. 9 nationally with four commitments as March begins, according to that national team rankings average.

Among them is one quarterback, as the Tide secured the pledge of four-star Alabaster (Ala.) signal caller Tret Seaborn, the No. 17 ranked player at his position nationally.

What other schools are involved?

Georgia has been mentioned in the conversation for Haven, currently ranking in the top-five nationally, but yet to sign a quarterback.

Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs extended an offer to Haven on June 1 of last year, but also have No. 1 2028 quarterback Jayden Wade committed to the program.

Haven took a visit to Auburn in early February and left with a good impression, with first-year head coach Alex Golesh looking to make a splash in his first recruiting haul.

Likewise for Jon Sumrall as he makes his debut at Florida, which remains in the mix for the top-ranked quarterback in search of a long-term answer at the position.

Another new head coach in the SEC is also looking at Haven, as Will Stein and Kentucky have been looking to get the attention of the quarterback as they install a new offense and are in the market for a game-changing quarterback to make that transition easier.

Where the QB ranks nationally

Haven remains the most highly acclaimed quarterback in the country looking ahead to 2027.

He remains the No. 1 ranked signal caller in the country and the No. 11 overall player nationally regardless of position, according to an industry weighted average of the national recruiting services.

That average marks Haven as the No. 2 overall recruit from the state of Louisiana and a consensus five-star prospect.

What he’s done on the field

Haven broke a Louisiana state record throwing the football this past season.

The 6-foot-5, 215-pound signal caller covered 4,714 yards in the air and scored 73 touchdowns in total, the latter being a state high school record.

Haven threw for 62 touchdowns while completing 72.3 percent of his pass attempts and throwing just seven interceptions while averaging almost 281 yards per game passing.

The quarterback ran for 794 additional yards and another 11 touchdowns while posting 6.3 yards per carry and averaging 57 yards with his legs each time out.

Improvement from the year before

That represents a jump in production from the previous season, when Haven threw for 37 touchdowns and 7 interceptions while covering 3,137 yards in the air.

He rushed for a career-high 948 yards as a sophomore and had a personal-best 21 touchdowns on the ground in 2024, according to MaxPreps.

In total, Haven has 9,274 passing yards while completing 68.1 percent of his passes and scoring 134 touchdowns in the air in his high school career.

He has another 2,375 yards rushing while averaging 5.9 yards per attempt and 44 touchdowns with his legs at Dunham (Baton Rouge), La.

(Rivals)