Cole Miller, Louisiana vs. All Y'all
By Hunt Palmer
Much was made of LSU’s decision process in the quarterback class of 2027.
The Tigers had reasonable ties to three of the best prep passers in the class– Colton Nussmeier, Elijah Haven and Peyton Houston. Logical thinking suggests nabbing multiple top 10 quarterbacks in one class in unlikely. The days of landing JaMarcus Russell and Matt Flynn are over.
So, Brian Kelly and Joe Sloan had to play their cards correctly. They took a commitment from Peyton Houston of Evangel in Shreveport. Then coaches were gone. Enter Lane Kiffin and Charlie Weis Jr.
Houston remained committed. Haven recently committed to Alabama, and Nussmeier continues to weigh options.
Five years from now, we’ll know the results of this quarterback conundrum. Right now, Houston appears to be doing all he can to suggest LSU has its guy.
Manhattan Beach, CA., hosted the Elite 11 finals over the weekend, and college football’s talent evaluators flew west to take it in.
“Peyton Houston had a really strong showing,” said Rivals Director of Scouting Charles Power said on The Hunt Palmer Show. “We rank them 1-11 at the end of the weekend, and he was fourth for us. I think he was arguably the most accurate quarterback there, was outstanding really the last two days. I think his pro day was one of the better pro days there. Very accurate, on time and kind of refined technically.”
Houston is on the shorter side, just 5-foot-11, but he’s got obvious strengths in the intermediate passing game that were display for all three days according to those in attendance.
“He was very good in the 7-on-7, as well,” Power said. “Did a nice job staying on schedule, staying ahead of the sticks. I think he completed his first 18 passes.”
It wasn’t just Power that noticed Houston spinning the rock. The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman called the Shreveporter “polished and super smooth.” Feldman added that “it’s not hard to see him throwing for a ton of yards in the Lane Kiffin/Charlie Weis Jr. system.”
It’s also not hard to envision Houston, Haven and Nussmeier all transferring from their first college stops. That’s the nature of the position in this landscape unless Congress gets involved. However, one could also look at LSU’s quarterback room and suggest it could be one year for Sam Leavitt in 2026 and then Husan Longstreet, Landen Clark and Houston manning the room in 2027. That’s a reasonable spot.
Houston’s quick decision making and accurate intermediate passing make him an ideal fit for Kiffin’s offense. His Louisiana roots could keep him on campus even if he doesn’t immediately win the job. Longstreet is two years older which creates a reasonable buffer between the two.
Planning for the future is a tough chore with college quarterbacks. In the present, LSU has a good one committed.
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