After Monday night you no longer must Google Curt Cignetti to know he is a winner. After Wednesday morning, if you were to Google the word commitment, the name of future Husker ‘Trae Taylor’ may very well pop up.
But I need to correct myself. As far as Husker Nation is concerned the future has already happened and Trae Taylor is a bona fide Husker. So much so you’d be hard pressed to find anyone more committed to Nebraska football than he is.
The 6’3”, 186-pound four-star quarterback prospect committed to Nebraska in May of 2025. His commitment was big for Matt Rhule as Taylor is Ranked by 247Sports as the No. 36 overall prospect in the 2027 recruiting class and the No. 4 quarterback.
So, what makes Taylor’s commitment to the Huskers next level? Taylor who has played the last two seasons at Carmel Catholic high school in Chicago, Illinois announced this morning that he’ll be playing his senior year of high school football at Millard South in Omaha. As Husker fans know from experience, playing at multiple high schools isn’t unique, but for someone as dedicated as Taylor, leaving his Corsair teammates to become a Patriot is no small matter.
Carmel had a losing season in Taylor’s sophomore year. But this season Taylor led his team to the state playoffs and fell just short of the title game. It was thought he would return for his senior year and attempt to make one last run. Especially since he was the driving force behind his team’s success. Taylor completed 205 of 251 passes for 3,571 yards and 38 touchdowns with just 3 interceptions. He also rushed for 633 yards and 12 touchdowns. It’s a big loss for Carmel Catholic and a big gain for Millard South.
“This decision was not taken lightly,” Taylor said.
Taylor will have big shoes to fill at Millard South as he replaces QB Jett Thomalla who set Nebraska Class A records last season. Thomalla was highly sought after and accepted a scholarship to Alabama.
With Taylor’s choosing the Huskers so early in the process, recruiting specialists and fans alike doubted his ability to stay committed. But Taylor has been adamant that he is all ‘N’. He’s also made it clear that’s only as long as Matt Rhule and the current staff are intact. Yet the announcement of his intentions to move to Nebraska further reinforces the commitment he has shown thus far.
As Taylor explained it, his reasoning for moving makes perfect sense. “The original thought was to be there to focus on helping peer recruit. I don’t want to miss any of the guys that we will need,” Taylor said. “Next, with me being an early enrollee I figured why wait when I’d be in Lincoln most of the weekends anyways and multiple NIL things have been brought to me. But I couldn’t because of the schedule to get back to Lincoln. Lastly, on game days I can get way more time with coaches. I can dig into the playbook to have a better understanding before I enroll.”
Taylor has made several visits to Lincoln since committing and spent time with recruits, coaches, and current players. He led his team to a victory in the 7 on 7 Battle at the Boneyard event held this summer at Memorial Stadium. One of his teammates on that team was tight end Ahmad Hudson. A five-star recruit, Hudson has multiple offers from several schools including LSU. He is just one of the players Taylor has been peer recruiting. While Taylor made his own list of players to recruit and stay in touch with, it’s a given he has the full support of the Husker staff.
2027 QB Trae Taylor’s Top Targets.
- Ahmad Hudson – TE, 6’6”, 239lbs, Ruston, LA
- Cooper Terwilliger – TE, 6’5”, 225lbs, Pierre, SD
- Albert Simien – IOL, 6’4”, 280lbs, Lake Charles, LA
- Kennedy Brown – OL, 6’4”, 285lbs, Humble, TX
- Mason Halliman – OL, 6’5”, 285lbs, Frankfort, IL
- Khalil Taylor – WR, 5’11”, 180lbs, Pittsburgh, PA
- Kylonn Haynie – RB, 5’10, 200lbs, Omaha, NE
Nebraska currently has six 2027 players who have committed, including Taylor.
- Trae Taylor – QB, 6’3”, 186lbs, Chicago, IL
- Tory Pittman III – DB, 6’0”, 189lbs, Omaha, NE
- Antayvious Ellis – WR, 6’0”, 175lbs, Crawley, TX
- Amir Brown – RB, 5’10”, 200lbs, Rolesville, NC
- Matt Erickson – OT, 6’8”, 280lbs, Omaha, NE
- Jayden Travers – DL, 6’3”, 260lbs, Baltimore, MD
Nebraska assistant coaches have been out making visits this week and making offers, some of the 2027 players on Nebraska’s radar and names to remember are,
- JaMarquis Hudson – LB, 6’3” 210lbs, Port Arthur, TX
- Tyson Ross – OL, 6’5” 290lbs, Andover, KS
- Prince Goldsby – Edge, 6’4” 210lbs, Blue Springs, MO
- Avery Micheal – OT, 6’6” 285lbs, Turlock, CA
- AJ Randle – ATH, 6’3” 210lbs, Garner, NC
- Jordan Agbanoma – IOL, 6’3” 295lbs, Loganville, GA
- Carter Blattner – DL, 6’5” 260lbs, Allendale, NJ
- Blake Betton – LB, 6’3” 205lbs, Shakopee, MN
- Kyler Kuhn – IOL, 6’3” 280lbs, Kansas City, MO
- Kailib Dillard – DB, 6’0”, 175lbs, Jenks, OK
- Semaj Stanford – S, 5’11”, 180lbs, Broken Arrow, OK
- Gabriel Osborne Jr. – DB, 6’2”, 180lbs, Mustang, OK
- Barrett Kittrell – OL, 6’4”, 270lbs, Ashland, NE
- Sidney Rouleau – OL, 6’5”, 300lbs, Bullard, TX
- Desmond Malpress – Edge, 6’3”, 205lbs, Jacksonville, Fl
- Santana Harvey – Edge, 6’5”, 220lbs, Lakeland, FL
- Isaiah Alverez – WR, 6’0”, 160lbs, Ramsey, NJ
- Bryan Porter – WR, 6’0”, 190lbs, Oradell, NJ
As always, with recruiting the hit rate is low compared to offers. Nebraska has six commits now and will probably only take another seven to nine players. But as of now, it’s set to be the highest ranked class Rhule has had thus far. And it all started with Trae Taylor.
GO BIG RED!! SIMPLE, FAST, VIOLENT!!
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