Jake Nawrot took a route few top quarterbacks do, and now Kentucky is betting that the patience he showed in Arlington Heights will translate to Lexington.
The John Hersey senior and Kentucky commit enters the final week of the 2026 season with his high school future already rolling and his college path set under new Wildcats coach Will Stein. Nawrot is ranked No. 64 overall in USA TODAY’s Composite Rankings for the 2027 recruiting class, and among quarterbacks in that cycle only Nebraska commit Trae Taylor, Alabama commit Elijah Haven, Miami commit Israel Abrams and Oregon commit Will Mencl sit ahead of him.
That standing makes sense when you look at the production. Nawrot’s junior season was a record-setting one at John Hersey, as he threw for 3,078 yards and 41 touchdowns, then added even more this fall while guiding the Huskies to an 8-0 start.
“I feel confident this year,” Nawrot told USA TODAY Sports. “I've been able to go out there and let it rip.
No hesitations this year. Last year, there was a little bit of overthinking.
This year, I can just let it go loose because I trust the plan.”
That confidence didn’t come from an easy path. Nawrot spent his freshman and sophomore years behind Colton Gumino, who is now a Division I, Big 10 quarterback at UCLA. He never looked for a way out, and John Hersey coach Tom Nelson said Nawrot used that stretch to absorb everything around him.
“You never know how much he's listening in meetings,” John Hersey coach Tom Nelson told USA TODAY Sports about Nawrot. “How much he's taking in mental reps when he's not getting all the physical reps.”
Nelson said one summer moment between Nawrot’s sophomore and junior seasons confirmed he was ready when his turn came. A college came to watch Nawrot even though he had not started yet, and Nelson was struck not only by what the coaches saw on the field, but by how much his teammates were pulling for him from the sideline.
That, Nelson said, showed a quarterback who was learning leadership without the benefit of snaps.
“For a high school kid, it's different than a college kid,” Nelson said. “You're on scholarship; you get your meals paid. For a high school kid, there's really no reward necessarily unless you see your future.
“You wouldn't know he's whatever national ranked recruit he is. He's just Jake to these guys.
He's holding kids accountable, but also putting his arm around when needed. I think that's an elite trait for the position and the role he's going to have to take at the next level.”
Nawrot’s recruitment came later than most because he didn’t become a starter until junior year. He said major college interest didn’t really arrive until January or February, and Kentucky surged to the front soon after Will Stein was hired.
“The track record speaks for itself,” Nawrot said. “The amount of quarterbacks he's developed, as well as (Joe) Sloan at LSU with the quarterbacks he's had. I think it shows I can be another one, and it gives me a lot of faith.”
Kentucky offered him on Feb. 11, he made an unofficial visit on March 16 and committed less than a month later, on April 12. He returned for an official visit on June 19, then came back again on Sept. 12 for Kentucky’s game against Alabama. He plans to visit once more on Oct. 24 against Vanderbilt.
“It was nuts,” Nawrot said of the game environment against the Crimson Tide. “The first half, when they were up and everything was going well, was great. Then the second half wasn't amazing, but still, the fans and the culture there, I think the narrative is changing for football.”
Nawrot said he sees a program on the rise and pointed to Stein’s vision for Kentucky.
“Kentucky has been a basketball school, but Indiana was the same thing,” Nawrot said. “They're known as a basketball school, turned it around with a 16-0 season and a national championship. There's nothing that's really telling Kentucky they can't (do the same).
“It’s good to have those aspirations and I think Coach Stein loves the program so much. It's been a childhood dream of his to coach them, so I think playing under a coach (like that) is just really exciting.”
Nelson believes Nawrot’s journey - one that didn’t include sophomore varsity starts or early national buzz - will end up serving him well.
“What's unique about Jake's story is that he didn't play as a sophomore, where most of these kids are starting as freshmen or sophomores and are already in the national spotlight,” Nelson said. “I think that experience is really good for him long term, because no matter where he goes, he's going to have to experience that again with just waiting, sitting and learning.”
Nawrot’s numbers this season back up the buzz. Entering Friday, Oct. 16, he had completed 122 of 174 passes for 1,864 yards and 27 touchdowns without an interception, while leading John Hersey to an 8-0 record and a season finale matchup with Prospect.
His Oct. 2 performance against Elk Grove was especially loud: 19 completions in 24 attempts for 322 yards, six passing touchdowns and a rushing score. It was the third time in his career he threw six touchdown passes in a game, and the second time he accounted for seven total touchdowns.
If John Hersey beats Prospect, the Huskies would finish unbeaten for the first time since 2023. Bigger than that, though, is the goal Nawrot and his teammates are chasing - something only one other John Hersey team has ever done.
The 1987 squad remains the school’s lone state champion, going 12-2 under head coach Bruce Glover after a 1-8 season the year before.
“The team's playing really well and we've been practicing well,” Nawrot said. “I think the results have shown that. Our goal is to win the state championship and my personal goal is just being better every day.”
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