Nebraska
Nebraska Quarterback Commit Trae Taylor Talks Junior Day, Selling Nebraska to Peers
It was a busy 48 hours for four-star quarterback commit Trae Taylor, who helped Nebraska football welcome in some of the top offensive players in the country this past weekend.
With the help of several members of the Huskers’ 2027 class, Nebraska opened its doors to 12 prospects in total. With a clear emphasis on the offensive side of the ball, at least for this past weekend, Taylor had the opportunity to reunite with future teammates while also continuing to build relationships with potential ones as well.
With several of the nation’s top pass catchers in attendance, the weekend served as a prime opportunity to make lasting impressions and put Nebraska firmly on their radar. Based on Taylor’s perspective, he believes the Huskers’ staff, with his help, was able to do just that.
Here’s the latest coming out of Junior Day, from Taylor’s thoughts on a five-star wide receiver’s first visit to campus, to what it was like being back in Nebraska after announcing his in-state transfer, and his early impressions of the program’s new-look staff.
A major storyline surrounding Taylor for some time has been his willingness and ability to peer recruit. In doing so, he’s not only helped set a standard for what Nebraska is looking for at the quarterback position, but he’s also established a blueprint for how quarterbacks across the country can impact recruiting before ever arriving on campus.
Taylor’s helped position Nebraska in the conversation for some of the nation’s most elite offensive talent, and his commitment to the Big Red has prompted those prospects to at least seriously consider the opportunity that Lincoln has to offer. His presence alone has changed how Nebraska is being viewed in certain recruiting circles and inarguably benefits this staff’s pitch to prospects on both sides of the ball.
Because of this, the Huskers are being made available to recruits they otherwise likely wouldn’t have gotten a chance to close on before Taylor’s decision. That means that the young signal-caller’s interest alone in making top talent around him want to jump on board as well.
No recent recruit embodies that sentiment more than five-star wideout Kesean Bowman. Ranked as the No. 32 overall recruit in the class and sixth-best pass catcher in the country, Bowman took a visit to Lincoln for the first time this past weekend. While Taylor’s relationship with the 6-foot-2, 175-pound budding star is not new, he’s likely a recruit the Huskers don’t garner much interest from without their quarterbacks’ help.
When asked about how he thought his 7-on-7 teammate viewed his visit to Nebraska, Taylor didn’t shy away from how excited he was. “He was shocked at what Nebraska is,” Taylor said. “I’m just glad he listened to me and gave the Huskers a real chance. Now we just have to keep building our relationship.”
From the soon-to-be Millard South Patriots’ eyes, he allowed Nebraska to open the door. Now, the pairing of Taylor and the rest of Rhule’s staff will need to close the deal. For now, if social media is any indication, Bowman very well may have had a new school to have entered the mix.
Nebraska also hosted Baron Marshall of Overland Park, KS, as well. Listed at 6-foot-3, 175 pounds, the lengthy pass catcher is ranked the No. 50 overall player in his class. Despite being just a sophomore in high school currently, the Huskers aren’t wasting any time getting Taylor surrounded by top talent regardless of the class. And even though Marshall is listed as a 2028 recruit, the Big Red fully expects Taylor to be at Nebraska for the long haul, giving them reason to aggressively recruit players in classes immediately following his own.
“I think he really likes Nebraska,” Taylor said. “It will be our job to keep getting Baron around this 2027 class. Our relationship will only get stronger with me being in Lincoln soon, because every time he comes, I’ll be there. I hope I get to throw to him at camp this summer”.
With Marshall being a 6-foot-3 pass catcher with room still to grow, it’s not hard to see why Taylor and Nebraska are interested in the recruit. They’ll have to battle the likes of Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and a growing list of other Power Conference schools, but the work Rhule’s staff has done early currently puts them in the lead, per reports from On3.
Another topic we discussed wasn’t about recruiting, his decision to uproot his life for the betterment of Nebraska’s football program, or even playing quarterback at all. Instead, it was about the relationships he’s been able to build with the assistant coaches responsible for recruiting the players protecting him on the offensive line.
“I actually knew Coach Teasley from my visits to South Carolina,” said Taylor. “What he brings to Nebraska is elite.” While Teasley was named run game coordinator for the Huskers this offseason, Nebraska also hired Geep Wade as offensive line coach. Of the new head man, Taylor also had nothing but good things to say.
“Coach Geep,” Taylor said. ” I actually got to spend some time with him, and I see why linemen want to play for him. [He’s] so easy to be around and has a no B.S. sense about him when it’s time to work.”
That’s exactly the kind of things you’d like to hear from quarterback recruits, and likely feelings that will only get stronger as their relationship expands over the coming years. Regardless, for now, early reports are positive to say the least.
Quick Hits
*On reconnecting with Antayvious Ellis after publicly announcing the duo will be teammates together at Millard South (NE) next fall, Taylor said, “It was good. Tay and I have a ton of work to do to fit in with the rest of the team and their culture, but we are kids ready to work”.
*On being back in Lincoln for the first time since his transfer announcement, Taylor said, “It was amazing this weekend. I really learned how to navigate the city, hang out with other athletes, and build relationships with them as well.”
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Nebraska
Data centers take center stage at North Omaha townhall
The future of data centers in Nebraska took center stage at a North Omaha town hall Thursday evening.
The event was hosted by State Sens. Terrell McKinney and Ashlei Spivey, who alongside Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh sponsored a bill in the Nebraska Legislature that looked to help regulate data centers.
Parts of their bill were adopted and passed in LB1010, which requires reports on annual power usage, water usage and ownership.
“Having this passed in a package showed a lot of bipartisan work,” Spivey told a crowd of attendees at Nelson Mandela Elementary School.
The proposed regulations were shaped in part by Bold Nebraska, an advocacy group focused on eminent domain and clean energy. Jane Kleeb, chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party and founder of Bold Nebraska, said before the bill passed there were “zero laws on the books” to address a boom in data centers.
“If one is coming into the community, we wanted to make sure that there were some basic transparency things in place,” Kleeb said.
Political discussions around data centers heated up in recent months following reporting by the Flatwater Free Press that showed Google is considering a data center in Nebraska that could require more than three times the amount of power the entire city of Lincoln uses at peak demand in the summer.
The Nebraska Legislature recently passed another bill, LB1261, that allows private developers to build and own power plants to serve a large industrial customer, including data centers. That bill was proposed by the governor’s office and celebrated by Gov. Jim Pillen.
“Our state is once again taking a bold and strategic step – one that will create an environment that attracts business and multibillion dollar investment, while legally preserving Nebraska’s unique and consumer-friendly public power model,” Pillen said at the time.
At Thursday’s town hall, McKinney called LB1261 “the bogeyman bill.”
“It’s a bill that the governor pushed through the legislature to allow for data centers to create their own power,” McKinney said. “It’s a bill that I stood on the floor and said this is going to harm our communities.”
Nebraska
Hundreds lose power across southeast Nebraska after Thursday morning storm
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Hundreds of people are without power in southeast Nebraska after a severe storm passed through Thursday morning.
The Lincoln Electric System outage map showed 115 customers without power across the city at 11:36 a.m.
Norris Public Power District’s outage map also shows 45 customers affected by the storm. As of 11:36 a.m., there were nine active outages.
According to the Nebraska Public Power District outage map, 657 customers were affected by the storm. Most of the affected customers were near Plattsmouth in southeast Nebraska. As of 11:37 a.m., 27 customers remain without power.
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Nebraska
Mandatory evacuation orders for area near Crawford, Fort Robinson
Mandatory evacuations have been ordered near Crawford, including Fort Robinson State Park, as the South Fork Fire continues to spread in western Nebraska.
According to the City of Crawford, evacuations are currently underway for an area north of Crawford that includes the area south of Dodd Road, west of Dodd Road, and FF Street.
Fort Robinson has also been evacuated.
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission said Fort Robinson State Park and Peterson Wildlife Management Area have been temporarily closed due to the fire.
The fire has burned approximately 9,000 acres and is currently 0% contained, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Nebraska Game and Parks said the park and the WMA will remain closed until further notice to support firefighting operations and protect public safety.
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