There appears to be no limit to how many accolades Nebraska quarterback commit Trae Taylor can earn before he steps on campus officially as a Cornhusker. 

Taylor, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound quarterback, earned his fifth recruiting star on Monday from Rivals after a recent rankings bump. The added star launched the quarterback into the driver's seat of the 2027 quarterback class rankings, placing the future Cornhusker as the top quarterback prospect and a consensus five-star prospect. Taylor now has five-star ratings from both Rivals and 247Sports, as the latter named him the nation's top quarterback prospect following his Elite 11 MVP in May. 

Taylor's fifth star also launched him into a new grouping of top prospects, as Rivals now ranks the quarterback as the No. 17 overall prospect for the Class of 2027. Taylor rose from No. 71 previously, moving up 54 spots to secure a top-20 position in the class. In the 247Sports rankings, Taylor is the No. 8 overall prospect and the No. 1 quarterback in his class. 

The ranking also pushed Taylor to become the top-ranked in-state recruit and commit for Nebraska football in the 2027 class, surpassing fellow Husker commit Millard North athlete Tory Pittman III. Taylor elected to transfer from Carmel Catholic in Illinois to Millard South in Omaha, Neb., for his senior season to aid in peer recruitment for the Huskers in the fall and has been participating in summer activities for the Patriots since his arrival. 

Taylor committed to Nebraska prior to his junior season at Carmel Catholic and went on to throw for 3,571 yards and 38 touchdowns with only three interceptions. The quarterback would add 633 rushing yards while scoring 12 touchdowns on the ground as well. He would earn a four-star ranking from most recruitment sites while remaining committed to Nebraska. 

The quarterback's work this summer then cemented Taylor's status as one of the top prospects in the country after collecting the Elite 11 MVP in May. The honor pushed Taylor into joining the likes of Heisman winner Caleb Williams, elite Ohio State signal callers C.J. Stroud and Julian Sayin, and many others as an Elite 11 MVP honoree. 

"Job's not finished. Blessed for it all," Taylor wrote on his social media page Monday after his five-star announcement. "The job is not finished. So much work to be done."

With Taylor's bump to a five-star prospect, the quarterback has now become one of the most desired prospects in the history of Nebraska football. According to 247Sports' all-time commits rankings, Taylor's new status has surpassed 2024 and 2025 starting quarterback Dylan Raiola's five-star ranking, placing Taylor No. 2 all-time behind running back Marlon Lucky. 

Taylor's newest recruitment ranking could put Matt Rhule's 2027 class as one of the best of all-time for Nebraska, rivaling comparisons to Lucky's 2005 recruitment class under former coach Bill Callahan. The Huskers' 2005 haul included Lucky as the five-star talent along with fellow four-star running back Leon Jackson. The Huskers also brought in four-star defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh and four-star linebacker Phillip Dillard as part of the class, giving Nebraska four top-100 recruits in 2005. 

The Huskers currently match the 2005 class with four top-100 commits, including Taylor as the five-star quarterback, Pittman II as a four-star defensive back, four-star interior offensive lineman Jordan Agbanoma, and four-star receiver Khalil Taylor.

Following the update on Rivals' prospect rankings for the 2027 class, Nebraska football has settled in at No. 18 in the site's rankings. The Huskers earned the No. 15 spot in 247Sports composite team rankings as well, as both sites have Nebraska's class ranked behind Big Ten foes Oregon, Ohio State, and Michigan. Rivals puts UCLA and USC's classes ahead of Nebraska's, while 247Sports puts both programs two and three spots, respectively, behind NU.

Nebraska has remained at 22 prospect commitments since the last verbal commitment of Gibsonia, Penn., four-star receiver Khalil Taylor on July 6. Taylor had previously been committed to his in-state school, Penn State, but backed off his commitment prior to the firing of former Nittany Lions coach James Franklin in October 2025. 

The Huskers have also re-prioritized securing in-state talent within Nebraska, as five of the top seven prospects in the state are committed to NU. Taylor and Pittman are joined by three-star linemen Matt Erickson (Millard North) and Barrett Kitrell (Ashland-Greenwood), as well as three-star receiver Antayvious Ellis (Millard South), who joined the five-star quarterback in his transition to Nebraska. 

Taylor and the Huskers continue to work on relationships with prospects who are currently committed to other programs, such as LSU tight end Ahmad Hudson. Hudson was a notable addition to the June 5 recruiting weekend, as he changed several of his social media profile photos to reflect his visit to Lincoln at the time.