Nation's No. 1 QB prospect sparks recruitment battle among three SEC programs

The top-ranked quarterback prospect in the 2027 college football recruiting class has set his sights on three notable schools in the SEC.

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The best quarterback in the 2027 college football recruiting class is picking up steam and getting serious attention from several elite programs interested in signing him.

Five-star Baton Rouge (La.) quarterback Elijah Haven is considered the top-ranked signal caller in his class, and his focus appears to have consolidated around three SEC programs, according to a Rivals recruiting insider.

Who the No. 1 QB is considering

First among those SEC contenders still appears to be Alabama, which is poised to host Haven for another visit this coming weekend, according to Rivals’ Steve Wiltfong.

Kalen DeBoer has already signed four-star 2027 quarterback Trent Seaborn, a top-15 player at the position nationally from Alabaster (Ala.), who will also meet with the Crimson Tide again this weekend.

Alabama originally offered Haven back in June, and he was present for three of the school’s home games, including two this past season, with insiders noting that Haven considers the school his favorite at this point.

Elijah Haven, five-star rated quarterback from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, arrives for the 2025 Dabo Swinney Football Camp in Clemson, S.C. Tuesday, June 3, 2025. | Ken Ruinard / USA Today Network South Carolina / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Alabama still leads the projections by a long shot, sitting definitively in first place with a 78.6 percent chance to sign Haven to its 2027 class, according to the Rivals Recruiting Prediction Machine.

Other SEC schools in play

Right after meeting up with the Tide, the quarterback will check in with its rival.

Auburn is set to meet up with Haven in the very near future, according to Wiltfong.

First-year head coach Alex Golesh already made a splash in the transfer portal by securing former USF quarterback Byrum Brown, and is still looking to make a good first impression by signing a big-name recruit at the position.

Four-star Antioch (Tenn.) quarterback Andre Adams was reported to be taking a visit with the Tigers this month, but insiders feel Mississippi State could be in the lead at this point in the process.

Auburn and Alex Golesh are still in contention for the No. 1 ranked quarterback in the 2027 recruiting class. | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Something of a new contender in play is Kentucky, also under a new head coach as Will Stein was appointed to take over for Mark Stoops.

Stein and the Wildcats have one recruit signed up for 2027 and it’s a quarterback, as three-star Buford (Ga.) signal caller DJ Hunter is UK’s one pledge in the class so far.

Scoring a player like Haven would be a massive boost for Kentucky as Stein looks to improve the program’s stature in arguably college football’s most competitive conference.

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.

And he's getting better

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.

What the recruiting experts say

Analysts are very high on Haven, unanimously naming him a five-star recruit and placing him among the very best players in the country.

Haven is considered the No. 1 quarterback in the nation, the second-best player in Louisiana, and the No. 14 overall recruit at any position, according to an average of the national recruiting services.

The quarterback is regarded as the best prospect at his position and the No. 2 overall player, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite average.

(Rivals)

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