Even before the Nebraska football team kicked off its 2026 season, it lost one of the jewels of its 2027 recruiting class. However, Millard South doesn't have to worry about losing one of its best offensive weapons.
Wide receiver Antayvious "Tay" Ellis and the Huskers reportedly agreed to a "mutual parting of the ways" earlier this week. After the initial fears that quarterback Trae Taylor could be following him out the door died down, the question of whether Ellis would stay in Nebraska remained. After he stood out in the Patriots' Friday night win over Lee's Summit North, Ellis made it clear he's not picking up and leaving in the middle of the season.
"Coach Mendenhall is one of the best head coaches that I've played with. He's like-minded, very smart, good on offense, good on defense," Ellis told the Omaha World-Herald's Juliana Schwindt. "My plan for now is to stay in Nebraska."
Ellis showed how much he liked the offense that Mendenhall ran in the second half on Friday night against Lee's Summit North. He was, in fact, the star of the show and got 70 yards total, which was a big part of his team's 24-14 win. For the second straight week, he teamed up with Taylor, who was once going to be his teammate at Millard South and then with the Cornhuskers.
Nebraska football decommit Tay Ellis plans to remain at Millard South
The two 2027 commits even moved to Nebraska together in order to get in sync before they took a snap with the Huskers. And now, Ellis is headed somewhere else. Just where isn't known yet.
However, if Ellis's comments make some NU fans hope he might eventually decide not to leave Nebraska when his high school days are over, it's important to remember that this was a mutual decision. It certainly seems as if the bridge to Lincoln has been torn down, even if it wasn't burned down.
The public will likely never know exactly why Tay Ellis and Nebraska's very strong relationship somehow fell apart. His decommitment was one of the most surprising simply because of how much of a lock he's been for the Cornhuskers for months.
That makes this one of the more unusual recruiting departures of the Matt Rhule era, and perhaps the clearest reminder yet that in modern college football, even moving across the country isn’t enough to guarantee that a recruiting commitment will make it all the way to signing day.
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