JaCoby Stevens, the No. 25-ranked prospect overall in the class of 2017, is following his heart.
Stevens, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound safety, committed to LSU on Monday over Alabama, Georgia and Auburn.
"I picked LSU because it feels like home and I've always believed in Les Miles and his coaching staff," said Stevens, an Under Armour All-America selection and the No. 3-ranked prospect in the state of Tennessee. "This place is a program that will go down in history."
This wasn't Steven's first commitment to the Tigers. He first gave a verbal to Les Miles in September 2015, before decommitting Nov. 24, 2015.
Since that decommitment, Stevens had been the focus of a fierce recruiting battle among Georgia, Alabama, Auburn and Tennessee. He made unofficial visits to Alabama, Georgia, Auburn and Tennessee, including June and July visits to Tuscaloosa.
Stevens is yet another ESPN 300 verbal for LSU in the 2017 class, which was ranked No. 4 before Monday's announcement. Stevens becomes the 12th ESPN 300 verbal for the Tigers in a class that is headlined by fellow top-25-ranked prospects Austin Deculus, Tyler Shelvin and Kary Vincent.
With the addition of Stevens, who projects as a safety at the next level, LSU is putting together an elite class of defensive backs. Cornerback Vincent (No. 23), Stevens (No. 25) and safety Grant Delpit (No. 56) all sit inside the top-60-ranked prospects nationally.
The Tigers, who have signed top-10-ranked classes in nine of the 12 years ESPN has ranked prospects, still has a number of top targets on the board including five-star linebacker Dylan Moses, five-star defensive tackle Marvin Wilson, No. 20 Phidarian Mathis, No. 53 K'Lavon Chaisson and No. 84 Todd Harris.