Days after a Week 3 win over Florida, No. 3 LSU secured a key commitment and a potential quarterback of the future Monday with a pledge from 2027 recruit Peyton Houston, the top-ranked pocket passer in the ESPN Junior 300.
Houston, a 5-foot-11, 200-pound quarterback from Shreveport, Louisiana, is ESPN's No. 77 overall prospect in the 2027 class. A godbrother of former LSU All-American and Super Bowl LV champion Devin White, Houston announced his commitment to the Tigers over finalists Oklahoma, USC, Texas and Texas A&M in a ceremony at Evangel Christian (Louisiana) Academy.
"It's big staying home," Houston told ESPN. "It's a great feeling for the [family], putting on for the city and the state."
Houston was on hand for the Tigers' 20-10 victory against Florida and now stands as the first member of the program's 2027 recruiting class. His pledge arrives as a much-needed boost to the quarterback pipeline of a Tigers program that has struggled to land impact quarterbacks from the high school ranks since coach Brian Kelly took over in late 2021.
Quarterbacks Walker Howard and Rickie Collins -- signed respectively in the 2022 and 2023 recruiting cycles -- combined to appear in six games before leaving LSU via the transfer portal, while four-star 2024 signee Colin Hurley has yet to take a snap for the Tigers. LSU's 2025 class suffered a crushing blow last November when the nation's No. 1 overall recruit flipped his pledge from the Tigers to Michigan weeks before the early signing period. And despite efforts with top 2026 passers including five-stars Dia Bell and Keisean Henderson and four-stars Bowe Bentley and Landon Duckworth, LSU is still searching for a quarterback commit in the current cycle.
With starting quarterback Garrett Nussmeier out of eligibility after this fall, the Tigers' current depth at the position beyond the 2025 season includes only Hurley and Mississippi State transfer Michael Van Buren Jr., who joined LSU this past offseason.
As things stand, Houston cannot sign with the Tigers until Dec. 2026. A productive passer with polished mechanics and a quick release, Houston completed 69.6% of his passes for 4,480 yards with 38 touchdowns to six interceptions last fall, adding 690 yards and seven scores on the ground. He highlighted his sophomore season at Evangel Christian last October when he set a National Federation of High Schools single-game record with 817 passing yards in a 77-76 overtime defeat against local rivals Captain Shreve High School.
Houston's slate of campus visits this summer included stops at Clemson, Oklahoma, Texas and USC before the Sooners and LSU separated themselves in his recruitment over the past month.
Houston developed a close connection with first-year Oklahoma offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, who played a key role in helping the Sooners edge LSU for Bentley, ESPN's No. 5 dual-threat quarterback in 2026, earlier this summer. Program sources indicated a growing confidence in Oklahoma's pursuit of Houston following his visit for the Sooners' 24-13 win over Michigan on Sept. 6.
But home ties and Houston's relationship with Tigers offensive coordinator Joe Sloan ultimately won out. Raised three-and-a-half hours from Baton Rouge, Houston told ESPN that he's been to Tiger Stadium "more times than I count." On Monday, less than 72 hours after his latest visit to LSU, Houston sealed a significant 2027 commitment to Sloan, Kelly and the Tigers.
"One thing that really set Coach Sloan apart was the communication," Houston said. "If not every day, every other day he calls me and checks in on me -- talking football, life. It was more than football with him, too. He's been focused on me as a person."
After losing five-star wide receiver commit Tristen Keys last month, LSU's 2026 recruiting class ranks 12th nationally in ESPN's class rankings for the cycle. The unbeaten Tigers host Southeastern Louisiana in Week 4 (7:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network) before visiting No. 13 Ole Miss on Sept. 27.