Five new 2027 commitments in the back half of April

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of Louisiana's top-tier, elite national recruits announced his commitment Saturday to an SEC rival, but the back half of April was nonetheless kind to in-state colleges.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Commitment announcements continue to ramp up as the end of the school year and the upcoming college camp circuit and official visit slate rapidly approach.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>LSU, Louisiana (Lafayette) and Tulane all landed highly ranked Prep Redzone Louisiana prospects as new additions to their respective 2027 classes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>And another pair of quarterbacks from the state's loaded class at the position declared their college plans with out-of-state programs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's a rundown of five notable commitments during the past couple weeks ahead of spring practices and the calendar flipping to May. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jelandon Gray — 5-11, 185 QB — Barbe —&gt; Old Dominion</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As we've mentioned numerous times during the past year, part of the strength of Louisiana's 2027 quarterback class is its depth beyond the top three headliners on which most recruiting networks focus. Gray is another great example of the level of Division-I talent the state's rising senior passers possess with his big junior campaign this fall and now a commitment to the Monarchs this month.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1812209' first='Robert' last='Taylor'] — 6-4, 180 WR — Ferriday —&gt; Louisiana (Lafayette)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Ragin' Cajuns helped kick off the run of in-state commitments by landing the big, athletic target from Ferriday. Taylor is a tall wide receiver with a wide catch radius, strong hands and springy athleticism to go up and consistently beat defenders to the catch-point. He's another nice find and potential steal by a Louisiana (Lafayette) program that has had a knack for being early to identify and successful in signing some of the state's more intriguing, but under-the-radar prospects and developing them well at the next level. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='934563' first='Devin' last='Lavalais'] — 6-1, 165 ATH — Marksville —&gt; Tulane</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A longtime highly Prep Redzone Louisiana prospect in the class going back to the flashes he showed as Marksville's starting varsity quarterback as just an eighth-grader, Lavalais may now have the chance to be a quarterback of the defense in uptown New Orleans after his commitment to the Green Wave. "Bam" is a strong, explosive and quick athlete with great vision all of which has shown all over the football field throughout his prep career, as well as on the basketball court, and he has a chance to be another great in-state addition for Tulane. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='934555' first='Braylon' last='Calais'] — 6-3, 200 ATH — Cecilia —&gt; LSU</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Home-state LSU landed its big April commitment last week when the versatile Cecilia athlete announced his selection of the Tigers over Houston, Miami, Ole Miss, Ohio State and Texas A&amp;M. Calais has been a major playmaker for the Bulldogs in all three phases throughout his high school career, but is slated to play wide receiver at the next level where his combination of size and ball skills make him a handful for defenders to try to contain. He would become the first player to sign with LSU out of Cecilia since 1999. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='642719' first='Elijah' last='Haven'] — 6-5, 215 QB — Dunham —&gt; Alabama</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The highly touted, state-championship and decorated quarterback from just down the road from LSU announced his commitment Saturday to Alabama over Georgia and a long list of other options. Haven's frame, build and big arm have long intrigued colleges from coast to coast. He possesses good athleticism for the position to be effective with his legs evaded the rush, extending plays or even taking off when he decides to, and has continued to develop nicely as a passer with a hyper-efficient and hyper-productive junior campaign this fall to lead the team's first title run since 2004. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->