Nebraska
Nebraska National Guard looks to bolster recruitment, partner with local communities
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – A Nebraska National Guard helicopter flying close usually means danger’s nearby—whether that’s flood, fire or famine.
“When disaster strikes, we’ll be ready,” said Craig Strong, the adjutant general of the Nebraska National Guard.
However, as the Guard focused in on one community on Wednesday, the people of Wahoo got to see a chopper in a very different light as it touched down on the high school football field.
“What we’re doing is reengaging where we belong, and that’s in the communities,” Strong said.
The National Guard’s leadership spent 12 hours touring the city and speaking with local leaders as they came together in an official partnership.
“It’s a win-win situation for the Guard to come out to communities and have this personal connection,” Wahoo Mayor Jerry Johnson said.
This outreach step comes as the Guard faces an uphill climb for recruitment, with more than 300 positions open in right now.
“There’s a direct impact that the Nebraska is going to have if we don’t figure out how to help them maintain their strength,” State Sen. Tom Brewer said, who’s served in the Guard and championed legislation aimed at incentivizing recruitment and retention.
Brewer’s priority bill this session would allow Guard members to exclude certain income from being taxed.
“I wish we had a bonus system like we used to, but we don’t,” Brewer said. “But what I told General Strong was anything we can do to make the Guard look more lucrative for someone who’s looking at this.”
Strong said he’s grateful for that legislative support and that getting out in communities will help bridge the gap.
“I think we’re trending in the right direction on that,” he said. “We make no excuses. And we’re moving out to demonstrate what a great opportunity is to be a part of the Nebraska National Guard.”
Wahoo was the first in this partnership program, but Strong tells me it won’t be the last.
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The recruiting industry has spoken, and Nebraska quarterback commit Trae Taylor has officially become the consensus No. 1 signal-caller in the 2027 recruiting class.
On Monday, Rivals updated its national rankings, elevating Taylor from a high four-star prospect ranked No. 71 nationally to a five-star recruit ranked No. 17 overall, a jump of 54 spots. The rise comes after an impressive stretch for the Chicago native, who is set to quarterback Millard South (NE) this fall.
Here’s what Taylor’s five-star status means for the Big Red, including what he did to reach this point.
Becoming a Five-Star
Taylor first earned a five-star rating from 247Sports shortly after being named the Elite 11 MVP following an impressive performance at the prestigious quarterback competition in May. Competing against 20 of the nation’s top signal-callers, Nebraska’s verbal pledge proved to be the best of the group.
According to 247Sports, Taylor is the nation’s No. 8 overall prospect and the No. 1 quarterback in the 2027 class. By earning MVP honors, he joined an impressive list of QBs that includes former Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams, 2025 Heisman finalist Julian Sayin, and several other top quarterbacks who have won the award over the years.
Taylor’s Recruitment
Taylor committed to Nebraska on May 1, 2025, and his stock has only continued to rise since then. At the time, he was regarded as a four-star prospect, but the Huskers believed they had secured a commitment from one of the nation’s top quarterbacks.
To his credit, he became just that. He followed that decision with a junior season in which he totaled more than 4,200 all-purpose yards and 50 touchdowns, cementing himself as one of the country’s most electrifying recruits heading into his senior year.
Despite interest from several of the nation’s top programs, Taylor has remained committed to NU. He reinforced that commitment by moving to the state ahead of his senior season, and his leadership has played a significant role in helping the Huskers assemble one of the top 2027 recruiting classes in the country.
Nebraska’s 2027 Recruiting Class
Nebraska’s 2027 recruiting class currently ranks No. 18 nationally and sixth in the Big Ten according to Rivals. Per 247Sports, however, the Huskers sit at No. 16 nationally, trailing only Ohio State and Oregon within the conference.
NU also holds commitments from four top-100 overall prospects in the cycle, its most since the 2005 recruiting class. Taylor is joined by four-star safety Tory Pittman III, four-star interior offensive lineman Jordan Agbanoma, and four-star wide receiver Khalil Taylor in that group.
Currently, the Big Red hold commitments from 22 prospects in the 2027 class. While Taylor is the only five-star recruit, nine of Nebraska’s commits are currently regarded as blue-chip prospects.
Nebraska Commits in 2027 Cycle:
- Trae Taylor- Quarterback (★★★★★)
- Tory Pittman III- Safety ★★★★)
- Jordan Agbanoma- Interior Offensive Line (★★★★)
- Corey Hadley Jr.- Safety (★★★★)
- Timi Aliu- Offensive Tackle (★★★★)
- Bryce Williams- Cornerback (★★★★)
- Nehemiah Ombati- Defensive Line (★★★★)
- Jailen Hill- Cornerback (★★★★)
- Amir Brown- Running Back (★★★★)
- Matt Erickson- Offensive Tackle (★★★)
- Barrett Kitrell- Interior Offensive Line (★★★)
- Jayden Travers- Defensive Line (★★★)
- KD Jones- Interior Offensive Line (★★★)
- Antayvious Ellis- Wide Receiver (★★★)
- Brennan Drummond- Safety (★★★)
- Joey Hunter- Tight End (★★★)
- Eli Harris- Linebacker (★★★)
- Caleb Green- Linebacker (★★★)
- Errol Demontagnac- Defensive Line (★★★)
- Ma’atoe Moe- EDGE (★★★)
- Justyn Lindsay- Wide Receiver (★★★)
What Taylor’s Bump Means for the Huskers
By now, every program in the country knows who Taylor is and what he could eventually become. For Nebraska, the task now shifts from recruiting him to proving it can develop him into an NFL quarterback over the next several years. For now, Taylor remains locked in, but signing day is still months away.
The 2026 season means significantly more that getting to a certain number of wins. For Matt Rhule’s staff, though, the pressure should be viewed as a privilege. They’ll need to prove they can develop the talent they already have while also winning football games. It’s as simple as that.
NU’s current staff already had one opportunity with a five-star QB, but that partnership ended after just two years. Taylor represents an opportunity to flip the script. This time, the Huskers will need to maximize it by keeping him in Lincoln, developing him into an NFL-caliber signal-caller, and seeing him finish what he starts, all while wearing the scarlet and cream.
Plenty of quarterbacks have found success while playing football for the Big Red. Plain and simple, Taylor needs to become the next one. Rhule’s staff seems set on seeing that become true. Now, fans will have the opportunity to watch it unfold.
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While Nebraska football fans mostly laughed at Wisconsin hiring Shawn Eichorst as their new AD, Badgers fans seem to be quite happy with the move. However, if the new athletic director’s tenure in Wisconsin echoes at least his early run in Lincoln, then Luke Fickell should know that he’s about to be shown the door, no matter what the 2026 season looks like.
One of the first things Eichorst did when he took over the program at NU was boot then-Husker head coach Bo Pelini. He did that despite the fact that Pelini was winning 9 or 10 games a season and was putting together campaigns better than any that have come since his firing.
The former Nebraska AD fired Pelini after he led his team to an emotional win over the Iowa Hawkeyes, with most of the coaches and players celebrating and seemingly poised to carry the momentum into bowl season and then the 2015 season. Eichorst had other ideas, essentially saying that beating the Hawkeyes simply wasn’t that impressive.
“In the final analysis,” he said at the time, “I had to evaluate where Iowa was.”
Shawn Eichorst’s Nebraska football tenure should worry Luke Fickell
Those words have stung Nebraska plenty since he uttered them, since Kirk Ferentz’s program has been inarguably better than the Huskers under Mike Riley, Scott Frost and Matt Rhule.
Certainly, Wisconsin fans should take that as a cautionary tale, not just because the AD overestimated where the Nebraska program would go, but also because he wasn’t very good at analyzing how to get them where he wanted them. But it’s even more a cautionary tale for Badgers’ head coach Luke Fickell.
Shawn Eichorst was essentially brought in as a clean-sweep artist in football. When he was hired, it’s clear that Pelini’s career in Lincoln was about to come to an end, unless he took the Cornhuskers on a miracle run.
The 37-34 overtime win over Iowa meant that the Huskers once again went 9-3. Two of the three losses were by five points or less. The only blowout loss of Pelini’s final season was to Wisconsin, 59-24. And yet, he was canned just two days after he finished another objectively successful season.
If Eichorst was willing (and some would say eager) to fire Pelini in that situation, is there any doubt he’s exactly as willing (and eager) to fire Luke Fickell after the 2026 season, unless he has a miracle run?
Fickell hasn’t been nearly as successful at Wisconsin as Pelini was at Nebraska. Back-to-back losing seasons put him at 17-21 in his career. He’d have to go on a 50-6 run to equal Pelini’s time in Lincoln.
Of course, it’s possible that Wisconsin fans are salivating at the idea of their new AD firing their rather mediocre head coach. The company line is they like that a former lieutenant to the longtime athletic director under Barry Alvarez is back and ready to bring the program back to glory days.
But is part of that march back to glory days expected to include a new head coach for the 2027 season? Put it this way, it wouldn’t be out of line for Luke Fickell to start putting out feelers to G6 programs this fall in case he has to update his resume quickly come December.
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The 2026 MLB Draft started on Saturday, with 135 players selected. For Nebraska, two Husker pitchers got drafted, adding to the growing list of prospects to come from head coach Will Bolt’s tenure.
Ty Horn and Carson Jasa were selected in the third round of the draft, being picked only five spots apart. Horn was selected 94th overall by the Cincinnati Reds, and Jasa was selected 98th overall by the Chicago Cubs.
The duo are the eighth and ninth Huskers to be drafted in the third round and the seventh and eighth Husker pitchers under head coach Will Bolt to be drafted in the first 10 rounds.
The duo joins Spencer Schwellenbach (2nd, 2021), Cade Povich (3rd, 2021), Emmett Olson (4th, 2023), Jace Kaminska (10th, 2023), Brett Sears (7th, 2024) and Mason McConnaughey (4th, 2025). Horn is the fifth Husker to be selected by the Reds in the draft, and Jasa is the eighth Husker to be drafted by the Cubs.
Horn finished the season 3-3, with a 4.03 ERA and one save across 22 appearances. He started in 12 games. The Halstead, Kansas, native recorded 87 strikeouts in 82.2 innings and held opposing batters to a .241 average. Horn also posted eight-plus strikeouts in three games, including a career-high nine strikeouts against No. 18 Ole Miss in the Lincoln Regional.
Jasa is the sixth All-American under Bolt following a wildly successful 2026 campaign. He finished 10-2 on the season, becoming the 13th Husker in program history to reach the 10-win mark in a season and the first since 2007. The Thornton, Colorado, native also finished fifth in program history for strikeouts in a season after recording 117 strikeouts across 87.2 innings.
Jasa pitched two complete games, earned a 3.59 ERA, and held batters to a .210 average. He posted 10 starts with at least eight strikeouts, including a career-high 11 against Penn State and 10 against Indiana and Maine. His play helped him become the third Nebraska starting pitcher to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors since 2021.
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