{"id":413102,"date":"2026-01-17T14:41:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T14:41:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/413102\/"},"modified":"2026-01-17T14:41:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T14:41:12","slug":"nations-no-1-quarterback-prospect-announces-top-4-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/413102\/","title":{"rendered":"Nation&#8217;s No. 1 quarterback prospect announces Top 4 schools"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6e\">The player who is considered the top quarterback and one of the single-best players in the 2027 college football recruiting class at any position has reportedly narrowed down his list of finalists to four possible contenders.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6h\">Elijah Haven, the consensus five-star quarterback ranked as the top player at his position in the country, is considering four SEC programs as he draws closer to his eventual commitment, according to Rivals\u2019 Hayes Fawcett.<\/p>\n<p>What schools are in contention?<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">NEWS: Five-Star QB Elijah Haven is down to 4 Schools, a source tells <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Rivals?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@Rivals<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The 6\u20195 215 QB totaled 4,714 yards and 73 TDs this season (Louisiana state record)<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s the No. 1 QB in the 2027 Rivals Industry Rankings<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/WorRVGSus3\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/t.co\/WorRVGSus3<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/VbnWN9vXd4\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/VbnWN9vXd4<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Hayesfawcett3\/status\/2012302638025523640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">January 16, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6q\">First on the list is Alabama, which is undergoing a change at the quarterback position ahead of the 2026 season following the departure of Ty Simpson to the NFL Draft, and as the program prepares to install former five-star Keelon Russell as QB1 in 2026.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6t\">Analysts are high on the Crimson Tide potentially earning Haven\u2019s commitment, as the school has a 100 percent chance to sign the quarterback right now, according to the latest 247Sports Crystal Ball projection.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6w\">Georgia is also among the finalists for Haven, as its quarterback depth chart for next season appears to be set at the top as Gunner Stockton didn\u2019t enter his name into the NFL Draft in time, possibly signaling his intention to return next season.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6z\">But the program will be in the market for a signal caller to replace Stockton eventually, and while Ryan Puglisi stands to inherit the position, insiders contend Georgia is also looking into former Oregon signee Bryson Beaver.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"72\">Five-star quarterback Jared Curtis was in the picture for Georgia before he de-committed from the Bulldogs and flipped to Vanderbilt last month.<\/p>\n<p>Other SEC powers in the mix<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"78\">Alex Golesh is set to start Byrum Brown as his first quarterback at Auburn, but Haven is considering the program as a potential landing spot, as well.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7b\">Andre Adams is also in the picture at quarterback for the Tigers, as the Nashville prospect ranked as the No. 3 quarterback in the country in the 2027 class, is set for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/fannation\/college\/cfb-hq\/recruiting\/nation-s-no-3-quarterback-scheduled-visits-to-auburn-mississippi-state\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">visit to The Plains in January.<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7e\">Another SEC hopeful under new management, Florida is also in play for Haven.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7h\">Jon Sumrall took over the Gators program this offseason and just lost former five-star quarterback DJ Lagway to the transfer portal, although the school did sign Aaron Philo, the former three-star Georgia Tech backup to the position this cycle.<\/p>\n<p>What he\u2019s done on the field<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-15\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7n\">Haven broke a Louisiana state record throwing the football this past season.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-16\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7q\">The 6-foot-5, 215-pound signal caller covered 4,714 yards throwing the ball and scored 73 touchdowns in total, the latter being a state high school record.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-17\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7t\">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.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-18\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7w\">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.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-19\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7z\">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.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-20\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"82\">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.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-21\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"85\">In total, Haven has 9,274 passing yards while completing 68.1 percent of his passes and scoring 134 touchdowns in the air.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-22\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"88\">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.<\/p>\n<p>What the recruiting experts say<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-24\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8e\">Analysts are very high on Haven, unanimously naming him a five-star recruit and placing him among the very best prospects in the country.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-25\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8h\">Haven is considered the No. 1 quarterback prospect in the nation, the second-best player in Louisiana, and the No. 14 overall recruit regardless of position, according to an average of the national recruiting services.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-26\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8k\">The quarterback is regarded as the best prospect at his position and the No. 2 overall player, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite.<\/p>\n<p>Read more from College Football HQ<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The player who is considered the top quarterback and one of the single-best players in the 2027 college&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":413103,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[399,398,396,397,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-413102","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-ncaa","10":"tag-ncaa-football","11":"tag-ncaafootball","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=413102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413102\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/413103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=413102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=413102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=413102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}