Nation's Top Girls Flag Football QB Offered First-Ever Power Conference Scholarship

California's Makena Cook was extended a historic offer by Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule, marking the first-ever scholarship offer by a Power 4 conference for flag football.

Orange Lutheran QB Makena Cook (2027) is one of the country's best girls flag football players. / TheeVoiceOf/IG

Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule has offered more scholarships than he can remember. But none of them were like the scholarship he offered over the weekend in Southern California.

Rhule offered Orange Lutheran (Calif.) standout junior Makena Cook a scholarship to play women's flag football for the Huskers, making it the first offer of its kind to any Power 4 conference school.

"I've been sent here to offer you the first ever flag football female Division I Power [conference] scholarship," Rhule says to Cook via a video going viral on Instagram. "Go Big Red."

The Nebraska athletic program is in the early stages of adding women’s flag football and it is expected to be up and running by 2028, according to reports.

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The news of the offer is spreading all over the internet and TV newscasts. It's not only historic, but an indicator of what's to come for women's athletics at the collegiate level after seeing girls flag football take off at the high school level.

"I was at first caught a little off guard with the amount of attention it got, but it’s has been amazing the level of support people have given me," Cook told High School On SI. "I realize that this offer is so much bigger than me. There is so much talent out there in flag football and so to play a small part in furthering the game is really humbling."

Cook has been the country's best girls flag football player for the past two seasons, and she has the numbers to prove it from the quarterback position. The standout junior threw for 112 touchdowns and 7,083 yards to ancho O-Lu's 24-3 season which ended in a CIF finals loss to JSerra, the No. 1-ranked team in the country.

In two seasons, she's amassed 13,694 passing yards and 215 touchdowns.

FLAG FOOTBALL OR SOCCER?

Cook is a top-end soccer recruit. She recently committed to Georgia to play women's soccer. So what's it going to be in college? This is a young lady with choices.

"I definitely am grateful that I now have the opportunity to play flag football at a Power 4 school. As of right now, I am just focusing on my training and development in both soccer and flag football and taking it day by day," Cook said.

Cook is a 5-foot-9 forward with size and speed on the pitch. Her size and athleticism make her a great anchor-type forward that allows other players to find her feet with her back to the goal. Like a quarterback on the soccer pitch, she knows how to facilitate the ball to her teammates in the final third of the field, but she also knows how to put the ball in the back of the net.

She plays soccer for Slammers FC. She's the No. 28-ranked girls soccer player in California, according to Prep Soccer.

MORE OFFERS TO COME FOR FLAG?

After the whirlwind of the offer, and the great PR Nebraska gets for the offer ... Cook is likely to see more offers in the coming months. But it's likely we'll see the college programs start to offer other standout girls flag football players nationwide.

"I think with Nebraska stepping up, you are going to have a lot of movement with flag football and the Power 4 schools. However, I do want to mention that there are a lot of girls already playing college flag football and there are some great programs and coaches out there. Prior to Nebraska, I had received 5 other flag football offers from college coaches," Cook said.

Cook also has celebrity potential. She is part of the USA women's flag football team and was in an Under Armour commercial that aired in the Fall of 2025. She also has an endorsement with Shock Doctor with specializes in protection and performance equipment like mouthguards, knee braces and compression sleeves.

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