Nebraska took a hit on the quarterback recruiting trail Thursday, and this one came with a familiar sting: another Big Ten program stepped in and landed one of the Huskers’ targets.
Owen Herrick, a 3-star quarterback in the 2028 class, committed to Illinois this week, leaving Nebraska to regroup in its search for a quarterback in that cycle. Herrick had been one of the names on Nebraska’s board, but the Illini ultimately won the battle for the Pittsburgh product.
Herrick plays at Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, he’s ranked by Rivals Industry Rankings as the No. 417 player in the 2028 class, the No. 28 quarterback, and the No. 13 player in Pennsylvania.
His ranking might make him look like a quieter name on paper, but the offer list told a different story. Nebraska and Illinois were in the mix, along with Arkansas, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Syracuse, and others.
Herrick’s production has matched the attention. As a sophomore in 2025, he completed 157 of 287 passes for 2,469 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions. He finished that season with a 54.7 percent completion rate and averaged 164.6 passing yards per game while helping Central Catholic go 13-2, win the WPIAL championship, and reach the PIAA Class 6A state championship game.
He’s kept rolling in 2026. Through three games of his junior season, Herrick has gone 40 of 57 for 443 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 1 interception.
He’s completing 70.2 percent of his passes, averaging 147.7 passing yards per game, and owns a 115 quarterback rating. Central Catholic is 3-0 with wins over Bergen Catholic, Woodland Hills, and Pine-Richland.
Nebraska got an up-close look at Herrick earlier this spring, and he came away impressed. “When I visited Nebraska in March, it was a surreal experience,” Herrick told On3 back in June. “They have a state-of-the-art facility that has everything a college athlete would ever need."
Still, Illinois appears to have made the deeper connection. “My connections with the coaches are the best and most genuine I have with any school,” Herrick told 247Sports last month.
“The people there are the people I want to be around each and every day. Not only on the field, but off the field as well.”
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