Trae Taylor issued an apology for how he treated Illinois during his commitment to play college football at Nebraska. The highly-toutede quarterback is scrambling to save face after burning a bridge in his home state.
This kind of behavior does not bode well for the future in the era of the transfer portal.
Taylor, a four-star prospect in the college football recruiting Class of 2027, ranks as the No. 7 player at his position behind guys like Gunner Rivers, son of Philip Rivers, and Colton Nussmeier, the younger brother of LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier. He plays for Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein, Illinois.
Taylor does not have to sign his NLI (or financial agreement) with his future school until the Early Signing Period in December 2026, or National Signing Day in February 2027. There is still a very long way to go in his recruitment. Things could change 10 times over between now and then.
Thus, it was not a good idea for Trae Taylor to effectively torch his relationship with the staff at Illinois during his commitment ceremony on Thursday. He threw an Illini hat aside before he committed to play for the Cornhuskers and he was emphatic in doing so. He kept the Illinois hat on his head for a solid five-second count after declaring “I’m going to stay home.”
I will never understand why recruits toss the hat of a program that showed genuine interest in their future with time, attention and money. I certainly do not understand the move in the era of the transfer portal. What if things do not work out for Taylor at Nebraska? What if he enters the portal at the same time Illinois needs a quarterback? Why would the Illini circle back?
Current Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer responded to Taylor’s troll with a since-deleted post on X.
🌽ball, no pun intended
— @lukealtmyer9
Kids make mistakes. This was one of them. There was no need to take a shot at the Illini— especially this early in the recruitment process. Things can change just like that.
Credit where credit is due, Trae Taylor owned his mistake with a formal apology.
— Trae Taylor (@Qb6Trae) May 2, 2025
This will soon be water under the bridge, I would imagine. It is going to blow over. People are going to forget… for now.
However, this will come back to the spotlight soon as Taylor takes the field against the flagship university in his home state. Illinois fans are not going to let him forget. Nor will the players who are still around. It will be interesting to see how the coaching staff responds if there is ever a scenario where it becomes relevant, like the aforementioned transfer portal dilemma.
Trae Taylor made a mistake. Lesson learned.