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  "path": "/high-school-sports/2026/05/02/herseys-jake-nawrot-who-committed-to-kentucky-is-no-5-qb-nationally-in-2027-recruiting-cycle",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-02T23:24:06.052Z",
  "site": "https://chicago.suntimes.com",
  "textContent": "<p>What the college football world now sees in Jake Nawrot, Hersey coach Tom Nelson first saw a few years ago.</p><p>“He looked like a baby Labrador,” Nelson told the Sun-Times. “He was long; he had big feet and big hands.”</p><p>Those physical traits weren’t so apparent to the outside world when Nawrot spent his sophomore year backing up Colton Gumino, who’s now a freshman at UCLA.</p><p>“I was under the radar in a way,” Nawrot told the Sun-Times.</p><p>But then he had a breakout junior season, completing 71% of his passes for 3.078 yards and 41 touchdowns with only two interceptions for the 9-3 Huskies.</p><p>That put Nawrot on everyone’s radar. And after shooting up the national prospect rankings — he’s the consensus No. 5 quarterback and No. 62 player overall nationally in the 2027 recruiting cycle — Nawrot committed recently to Kentucky.</p><p>The 6-4, 200-pounder had more than a dozen Power Four offers, including Northwestern, Iowa, Louisville and Missouri.</p><p>The whole recruiting process seemed like a whirlwind.</p><p>“It’s pretty wild,” Nawrot said. “Even a year and a half ago, I never thought I was gonna get one [offer]. Then [former interim] coach [Robert] Weiner out of Toledo offered. He believed in me more than I did.”</p><p>Now pretty much everyone believes in Nawrot. National recruiting analyst Clint Cosgrove calls him “a big, pro-style pocket passer. Big arm, great decision-maker. He has every tool to be very good.”</p><p>Besides Nawrot’s physical gifts, Cosgrove likes his toughness.</p><p>“He’s not afraid to throw into a guy running into his face,” Cosgrove told the Sun-Times.</p><p>“My dad has trained me to be tough,” Nawrot said. “In eighth grade, I was scrawny, I was lanky. I learned how to take hits.”</p><p>As good as he is, Nawrot doesn’t big-time his peers.</p><p>“His teammates love and adore him,” Nelson said. “He’s a humble, homegrown kid who wants to be a part of Hersey football.”</p><p>Nawrot also wants to be part of a successful Hersey basketball team, which went 22-8 last season. He plans to enroll early at Kentucky but will play high school basketball as long as he can because he enjoys his time with teammates and coaches.</p><p>“I think basketball made me the football player I am,” Nawrot said. “It made me have better footwork and be better conditioned. It’s something that’s hard to go away from.”</p><p>But football is where his future lies. He’s the latest star at the position for Hersey, which has produced six all-state quarterbacks under Nelson since 2017.</p><p>Nelson said he has made the system adjust to the player rather than the other way around.</p><p>“All those kids are super talented,” he said. “We just fit what we want to do offensively with what they’re really good at.”</p><p>Even in that company, Nawrot stands out.</p><p>“He’ll be the most highly recruited kid at Hersey ever,” Nelson said.</p><p>Nawrot and Nelson believe the QB can continue to grow under new Kentucky coach Will Stein and new offensive coordinator Joe Sloan. Stein was the O-coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Oregon the last three seasons, while Sloan had been the O-coordinator at LSU.</p><p>“I felt I could go in there and compete early,” Nawrot said. “I fit into their schematic.”</p><p>“I think it’s a good fit,” Nelson said. “Their coaching staff on the offensive side has proven their ability to develop quarterbacks.”</p><p>Much like Hersey’s staff.<br></p>",
  "title": "Hersey’s Jake Nawrot, who committed to Kentucky, is No. 5 QB nationally in 2027 recruiting cycle",
  "updatedAt": "2026-05-02T23:24:06.052Z"
}