Just ahead of the Nebraska football team trying to win its sixth game of the 2026 season, the Huskers secured their quarterback for the 2027 campaign. The resigning of Anthony Colandrea means that NU won't need to go looking for another starter in the Transfer Portal this winter. It also means Trae Taylor likely knows he'll spend his true freshman season studying and learning under the tutelage of what will be a fifth-year signal-caller.
Not long after Colandrea's new deal was leaked, Taylor took to social media after being inundated with requests for comment. The young quarterback, busy preparing for the first round of the playoffs with his Millard South Patriots, issued a statement on social media to reply to everyone at once.
"My phone is blowing up wanting interviews about Ant coming back. I’ll post it here and get back focused on my game tonight. I absolutely love that he is coming back and hope TJ stays; I can learn a ton from both," Taylor wrote on Twitter.
"I respect every QB in that room as all of them have been helpful to me already. This changes absolutely nothing for my commitment, and I’m 100% locked in. Looking forward to coming in and competing and learning."
Trae Taylor welcomes Anthony Colandrea return and plans to learn from Nebraska football QB1
The Nebraska commit finished by saying he wasn't doing interviews on Friday because he needed to lock in on his own game against Standing Bear.
Taylor's response was not only charitable to the many people asking him to comment on something he had no say in, but also appropriate for a player who had other things to worry about than who would or wouldn't be his teammates next year. It was the kind of mature comment Husker fans have come to know well from the young quarterback.
It's unlikely the announcement took Taylor as off guard as most of Nebraska football nation was on Friday morning. After all, head coach Matt Rhule hinted that the Cornhuskers were talking with Colandrea about an extension when he brought up that the SEC had been tampering with NU's QB1.
It seems a no-brainer that Rhule and the staff would keep Taylor apprised of the situation. The last thing they'd want is a commit getting blindsided by this kind of announcement just over a month before National Signing Day. Nebraska obviously is desperate to make sure the high school senior sticks with the Cornhuskers.
Taylor has led the Patriots to an 8-1 record and a second-place finish in the Class A playoffs in his first season with the program. He transferred to Millard South to be closer to Nebraska’s football facility in Lincoln, after playing three years at Carmel Catholic in Mundelein, Illinois.
According to MaxPreps, Taylor has completed 172 of 274 passes (62.8%) for 2,583 yards and 31 touchdowns in nine games this year. He has also rushed for 712 yards and added 14 rushing touchdowns.
If everyone returned, Nebraska's 2027 quarterback room would include Colandrea, Taylor, senior Daniel Kaelin, senior Bode Soukup, and junior TJ Lateef. That assumes zero additions or attrition from the transfer portal this offseason.
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