Nebraska’s recruiting board is getting busy on both sides of the ball, and Trae Taylor just added another line to an already loaded résumé.
The headline for the Huskers on the quarterback front is simple: Taylor, Nebraska’s commitment and a recent five-star addition by 247 Sports, was named the Elite 11 MVP last week. He sits No. 1 among quarterbacks in the 2027 class according to 247 Sports, while ESPN has him at No.
- He was also described as the top quarterback prospect in the country and a top ten player overall.
Taylor didn’t just collect hardware, either. He drew attention over the weekend after a reporter questioned his athleticism, and he answered by saying he ran for over 700 yards and 12 touchdowns last season, in addition to his work as a thrower.
Nebraska is also trying to stay ahead of a possible recruiting battle with Texas A&M. After the Aggies missed on five-star offensive tackle Albert Simien, they appear to be looking at Nebraska commitment Jordan Agbanoma as a potential replacement.
That’s not a small target to worry about. Agbanoma is a 6-foot-2.5, 300-pound interior offensive lineman ranked No. 80 overall in the 2027 class by the 247 Sports composite. He’s also ranked fourth among interior offensive linemen and seventh in the state of Georgia.
There’s no sign Nebraska is in danger of losing him right now, but Texas A&M does have the kind of NIL resources that could make this worth watching, especially with money likely freed up after the Simien miss.
The Huskers are also still trending as the favorite for Khalil Taylor, while Florida three-star cornerback Kamauri Whitfield remains a 50/50 call.
Beyond that, Nebraska is looking for more help at EDGE in the 2028 class. The Huskers haven’t recruited that spot well enough under Matt Rhule, and an offer to Texas A&M commit Chance Archangel is part of the effort to change that.
Archangel is a 6-foot-3, 240-pound EDGE from New Iberia, Louisiana, ranked No. 255 overall in the 247 Sports composite. He committed to Texas A&M on June 2 and already has offers from Alabama, LSU, Arkansas, Florida State, Miami, Tennessee, Texas, USC, Notre Dame, and SMU. Nebraska added its name to that list on Sunday.
For Nebraska, the board is moving in a few different directions at once: protecting a prized quarterback pledge, chasing more talent at EDGE, and staying in the mix for other key targets.
In Other News...
Nebraska Recruiting Surge Just Pushed Two Assistants Into Elite Company
Nebraskas 2027 recruiting class kept piling up commitments through June, and the surge has sent two assistants climbing into rare company on the national recruiter board. The class went from 10 pledges entering the month to 21 by the end of it, a jump that reflects how much momentum the Huskers have built on the trail and how much of that work has been funneled through defensive backs coach Addison Williams and offensive line coach Geep Wade.
Williams and Wade each landed four commitments in the cycle, a haul that has pushed them up the 247Sports recruiter rankings in a big way. Williams now sits at No. 3 nationally and Wade is right behind at No. 9, a sign that Nebraska is getting the kind of position-coach production that can change how a class looks long before signing day arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraska Fans Wont Like What These New Blackshirts Ratings Suggest
EA Sports College Football 27 is starting to shape the way fans will view Nebraska before the season even kicks off, and the first wave of ratings leaves a mixed impression for a program trying to build momentum. The Cornhuskers landed an 83 overall team rating, good enough to sit 24th in the game and fifth in the Big Ten, but the more notable takeaway for Nebraska supporters is how the roster was graded by position.
The Blackshirts tradition did not get much love in these initial rankings, with no Nebraska defender cracking the games top-tier player lists. Transfer linebacker Owen Chambliss leads the unit as the Huskers' highest-rated defender, while center Justin Evans is Nebraska's only top-100 player and one of the best at his position with a 91 rating. To make matters a little less flattering, Memorial Stadium was left off the games initial list of the 25 toughest places to play for the second straight year. [Read more 🡒]
Brad Underwood Is Right In The Middle Of A Big Ten Debate
Fred Hoiberg has Nebraska in a different conversation than the program used to occupy, and not just because the Huskers have become harder to play against. The article places his work alongside some of the Big Tens most influential coaching jobs, with Ben McCollum trying to establish himself at Iowa, Brad Underwood leaning on a high-powered system at Illinois, and Matt Painter continuing to set the standard at Purdue. In that mix, Nebraskas rise feels less like a fluke and more like part of a larger debate about what actually wins in this league.
Underwood is right in the middle of it because his approach keeps producing one of the conferences most dangerous offenses, but Nebraskas path under Hoiberg raises a different question about staying power. The Huskers were one of the leagues better defensive teams last season, and that kind of balance gives them a real argument for being more than a one-year story. The issue now is whether Hoiberg can keep building in a way that matches the results, especially in a Big Ten where the best coaches are always being measured not just by what they put on the floor, but by how long it lasts. [Read more 🡒]