How high are the stakes in 2026?
Nebraska might need to take the jump that was expected in Year 3 just to get to a record that could be considered satisfactory in Year 4.
It feels like Trae Taylor has been Nebraska’s backup quarterback for years—beloved, yet to see the field, the potential solution to all current and future problems—and he’s not yet a high school senior. The 4-star commit in the 2027 class took his first visit to Lincoln in October of 2024, committed the following May and has been as much of a fixture around Nebraska’s program as one who lives in the Chicago suburbs can be. Taylor somehow made it to most of the Huskers’ home games in 2025.
And by the time he’s a senior in high school, Taylor will be in Nebraska, announcing a move Wednesday to play at Millard South for his senior season.
“This decision was not taken lightly,” Taylor shared on X. “I’ll be living in Lincoln, commuting to Omaha. So, any chance I’m allowed in the facilities I’ll be there. Kinda a redshirt year at a slower pace.”
In an offseason that’s already seen the fan-favorite (and effective) special teams coordinator and the undeniably talented two-year starter at quarterback leave, Taylor’s decision showed that someone wants to be in Lincoln as Matt Rhule’s fourth season begins in earnest.
Apparently, he really wants to be there. I don’t think I can recall a recruit who was this “in” on NU this far in advance. While this is a very public vote of confidence from the quarterback in what is, for now, the fifth-rated recruiting class in the country, I couldn’t quite shake the feeling that it raises the stakes a bit for 2026, and the stakes already felt pretty high.
