How Elijah Haven became the No. 1 QB in the 2027 class -- and does Alabama, Georgia lead ahead of decision?

The snap came too early for Elijah Haven.

Haven, in the midst of the most important play of the season for Dunham School in Louisiana, managed to catch the ball as it hit his chest and sprinted right.

Then a defender got in his face. Haven waited until the last possible second, with a defender hanging on his legs, and delivered the ball exactly where it should go -- low and in a place only his receiver could catch it.

The throw put Dunham up 49-48. It was the deciding score in an upset over No. 1 Lafayette Christian in the semifinals of the Louisiana Division III select playoffs.

"I think that play encapsulates everything he's about," Weiner said.

Weiner trusted Haven's decision-making enough to go for two in a critical moment.

A few months later, Haven is set to make his own major decision between two options.

The No. 2 overall player and No. 1 quarterback in the 2027 247Sports rankings will choose between Alabama and Georgia on April 25. The announcement will be made amidst the NFL Draft, perhaps an omen for the 2029 or 2030 draft class.

That's the type of ceiling Haven brings as a prospect.

He threw 62 touchdowns as a junior and accounted for a Louisiana state record 73 total scores that season.

"Is that a lot?" Weiner jokes.

Haven has been so dominant that he already holds Louisiana's career total touchdown record. Louisiana is the home of the Mannings, Terry Bradshaw, Brock Berlin and so many other high-profile high school passers. Haven eclipsed them all with a year to go in his high school career.

Haven is what 247Sports Director of Scouting Andrew Ivins labeled a "super-sized individual." He's 6-foot-5, 225 pounds. That's paired with a dunker's athletic ability and the vision of someone who played guard on the basketball floor all his life, including in high-level AAU competition.

Mentally, Haven processes the game quickly for a high school passer. He doesn't panic when a two-point play goes awry. He sees the field well, too. LSU Director of Performance Innovation Jack Marucci – considered to be one of college athletics' leaders in sports science – put Haven through the same processing test LSU gives to all its quarterbacks. Haven scored at an elite level.

"He's got all those things," Weiner said.

What's perhaps most intriguing about Haven is what could come next.

Despite the production, Ivins said Haven isn't as polished as some other top 2027 quarterbacks. When Haven showed up at the Elite 11 New Orleans regional on March 21, he told Ivins that he'd only thrown only one or two times since Durham's season ended in mid-December. The reason why – basketball.

Unlike a lot of his peers who do weekly quarterback training and 7-on-7, Haven largely checks out of football until basketball season ends.

That annual yo-yo between two sports will end next winter. Weiner said Haven will not play basketball as a high school senior, instead enrolling early at his school of choice. Haven may be a bit behind some of his peers in reps or mechanics. But his all-around athletic development, Weiner said, makes Haven such an intriguing prospect.

"I think that shows how high his ceiling can be that he hasn't maxed out yet," Weiner said. "There's a lot of great quarterbacks right now across the country, I don't know how much better than can get because they've dedicated all of their waking moments to this. And I think Elijah's got bigger and better things beyond."

The Decision

Coaching movement can have an outsized impact on a recruit's path, and Haven is a great example.

He grew up 10 minutes from LSU's campus, but the Tigers' coaching movement last cycle largely pushed the Tigers out of the conversation. Florida and Penn State were in hot pursuit, too, but the coach changes at those schools largely took them out of the conversation.

The two mainstays for Haven since the fall have been Alabama and Georgia.

Alabama has recruited high school quarterbacks as well as anyone the last few cycles. The Tide signed five-star Keelon Russell in the 2025 class. They followed that up with Jett Thomalla (No. 4 in 2026) and Tayden-Evan Kaawa in the 2026 cycle. Four-star Trent Seaborn is already committed in 2027. Haven would yet another chip in Alabama's war chest at QB.

Georgia, for its part, is looking for its first high school signee at QB since 2025. The Bulldogs need someone to bridge the gap ahead of the 2028 class when they already have No. 1 overall player Jayden Wade committed at the position.

It's an old-school SEC battle for the No. 1 passer.

A few days ahead of the decision, 247Sports national analyst Tom Loy said Alabama had the edge. 

"I feel good about Alabama heading into the final week of his recruitment," Tom Loy said earlier this week. "Georgia has made a point to turn up the heat the last week to show him how much he's needed – not just wanted – in Athens. They're making it a close race. But come Saturday I do expect him to pick the Crimson Tide." 

However, as decision day creeps closer, it seems like the Bulldogs are making a push. 247Sports had an excellent breakdown on Haven's process heading into the final 24 hours, and Loy reported this Friday afternoon.

"In talking with sources in Athens, Georgia, there is a strong belief that the Bulldogs are very much being slept on in this recruitment," Loy reported. "Now, I'm not trying to get Bulldogs' fans' hopes up here, but I do believe that Georgia and coach Kirby Smart are way more in this battle down the stretch than most realize.