No. 2 Ranked QB Delivers Bad News to Three Major College Football Programs

The 2027 college football recruiting cycle is in full swing as spring slowly turns to summer in the 2026 offseason.

The summer will provide an opportunity for the top prospects in the class to make official visits to the schools that interest them most in their recruitment. However, some prospects prefer to get their college decision out of the way before the summer rolls around.

One of the newest commitments in the 2027 cycle was that of four-star quarterback Jake Nawrot, who committed to Kentucky on Sunday. The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder from Prospect Heights, Illinois, ranks as the No. 2 quarterback in the 2027 Rivals300.

Nawrot is coming off a junior season at John Hersey High School in which he threw for 3,078 yards, 41 touchdowns and just two interceptions. He also plays basketball for Hersey, averaging 11 points and seven rebounds per game in his junior season.

247Sports director of scouting Andrew Ivins said Nawrot "can get the ball to all three levels and will take advantage of coverage lapses while working off play-action in a pro-style attack" in a scouting report from February. His comparison for Nawrot is Oklahoma State's Drew Mestemaker.

The Wildcats were already looking for better quarterback prospects, but they really needed one when three-star DJ Hunter decommitted in February.

Kentucky brought in Notre Dame transfer Kenny Minchey as its starter and held on to 2026 three-star Matt Ponatoski through the coaching change from Mark Stoops to Will Stein.

Kentucky had to fight off a handful of major programs in order to secure Nawrot's commitment. Hayes Fawcett of Rivals reported that Nawrot chose the Wildcats over three other Power Four programs.

Oregon

Dante Moore during the 2026 Peach Bowl. — Oregon quarterback Dante Moore drops back as the Oregon Ducks face the Indiana Hoosiers in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 9, 2026, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Like Kentucky, Oregon's scholarship offer to Nawrot was later in his recruitment process. The Ducks did not offer him a scholarship until the middle of March, although he did visit them twice between the time he was offered and his commitment to the Wildcats.

Oregon is in good hands at quarterback for the foreseeable future; the Ducks are returning 2025 starter Dante Moore for one more season. The succession plan after Moore's departure is Dylan Raiola, who started the better part of the last two seasons at Nebraska. Raiola may start in both 2027 and 2028, as the plan is to redshirt him in 2026.

The Ducks also have an interest in four-star 2027 quarterback Andre Adams. He is set to commit on Tuesday and will choose between Oregon, Virginia Tech, Mississippi State and Colorado.

Kansas State

Kansas State was the lone Big 12 school among the finalists in contention for Nawrot's commitment. The Wildcats offered him in the middle of January, and he visited twice, the second of which was the day before his commitment to Kentucky.

The Wildcats are starting Avery Johnson at quarterback for a third consecutive season in 2026. However, the future is fuzzy as Kansas State still has not landed a quarterback recruit or transfer since signing Dillon Duff in the 2025 recruiting cycle. The next quarterback head coach and legendary Wildcats quarterback Collin Klein signs to Kansas State will be the first.

Iowa

Of his four finalists, Iowa was aware of Nawrot the earliest in his recruitment. The Hawkeyes did not offer him a scholarship until January, but he made a pair of visits to Iowa, both in the spring and fall of 2025.

The Hawkeyes' lackluster quarterback production over much of the last decade is well documented; they have not featured a 2,000-yard passer since Nate Stanley was their starter in 2019. Iowa will lack an experienced starter in 2026, but it is bringing in a four-star freshman quarterback in Tradon Bessinger.