No. 2 QB Strongly Linked to Two Major College Football Programs

These two college football programs are in hot pursuit of the No. 2 quarterback prospect in the 2027 recruiting cycle.

A view of a TV camera and the ESPN college football logo before the game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the BYU Cougars | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

College football programs are pushing to land the best prospects from the 2027 recruiting cycle in the opening months of the 2026 offseason.

The earliest commitments in the 2027 class came in the summer and fall of 2025. Most of the best prospects in the class have not committed and will make a round of official visits before their decisions.

One of the top uncommitted quarterbacks in the 2027 recruiting class is Jake Nawrot. The 6-foot-4, 190-pounder from Arlington Heights, Illinois, ranks as a four-star prospect and the No. 6 quarterback in the class of 2027, per 247Sports Composite. Nawrot is coming off a season in which he threw for 3,078 yards, 41 touchdowns and just two interceptions at John Hersey High School

Even though he has not publicly named any contenders for his commitment, there are Power Four programs trying to make a run at Nawrot.

247Sports is reporting that two schools are emerging as potential favorites to land Nawrot's commitment later in the cycle.

Florida State

Florida State head coach Mike Norvell celebrates with defensive back Earl Little Jr. (0) during the first quarter against Stanford | Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

The Seminoles are the latest program to offer Nawrot a scholarship, extending their offer at the end of February. Mike Norvell has looked to the portal for starting quarterbacks for much of his tenure at Florida State; aside from James Blackman in 2020, the Seminoles have only started transfer quarterbacks to begin each season under Norvell.

Florida State will start Auburn transfer Ashton Daniels at quarterback in 2026. Other additions to the Seminoles' 2026 quarterback room include transfer Dean DeNobile (Lafayette), junior college transfer Malachi Marshall and three-star freshman Jaden O'Neal.

Kentucky

New Kentucky Wildcat head coach Will Stein makes remarks as he is introduced at Kentucky on Wednesday, December 3, 2025 | Michael Clevenger/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

247Sports considers the Wildcats "warm" in their pursuit of Nawrot. Kentucky offered Nawrot just weeks before Florida State did, part of the wave of offers Kentucky sent out in the month after head coach Will Stein's arrival. New offensive coordinator Joe Sloan has spearheaded Kentucky's pursuit of Nawrot.

Kentucky has routinely turned to transfer quarterbacks as its starters in the last decade. Stephen Johnson (Grambling), Terry Wilson (Oregon), Will Levis (Penn State), Devin Leary (NC State), Brock Vandagriff (Georgia), Gavin Wimsatt (Rutgers) and Zach Calzada (Incarnate Word) have all transferred to Kentucky since 2016.

The Wildcats went the transfer route for their 2026 starter, bringing in former Notre Dame backup Kenny Minchey. Kentucky held on to 2026 signee Matt Ponatoski through the transition from Mark Stoops to Will Stein as head coach, but it is on the hunt for a 2027 quarterback following the recent decommitment of DJ Hunter.