‘The hardest decision of my life’: Inside Jake Nawrot’s commitment to Kentucky
When Jake Nawrot woke up on Sunday, he wasn’t ready to make a college commitment.
Since he led Hersey High School to the Class 7A state quarterfinals in a season that he threw for 3,078 yards with 41 passing touchdowns and just two interceptions this past season, the all-state quarterback has had Power Four conference offers pour in from coast to coast.
Nawrot, the No. 2 quarterback in the Class of 2027 according to Rivals, spoke with Kansas State and Oregon on Sunday afternoon before he joined a call with Kentucky offensive coordinator Joe Sloan. There, everything clicked. He realized he wanted to become a Kentucky Wildcat.
“It was the hardest decision of my life, no question,” Nawrot said. “I still think about everything. This whole last couple of weeks has been crazy and the most stressful time of my life, but I think just finding the balance of everything that I wanted in a school and that I could see in an opportunity, this felt right.”
Kentucky brought in Will Stein, who was Oregon’s offensive coordinator the previous three seasons, to be the team’s new head coach in December. Since then, he has built his staff, bringing in Sloan from LSU, and hit the recruiting trail.
Nawrot’s relationship with those two blossomed since they offered him in mid-February. His visit in early March gave him a glimpse of how practices and meetings looked, and Nawrot said it was easy to envision himself in Lexington.
With hopes of becoming an NFL quarterback, Nawrot believes he’s going to the exact place that will allow him to grow and thrive.
“The coaching staff being there, their track record speaks for itself with all of the quarterbacks they developed in Jayden Daniels, Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel,” Nawrot said. “As a quarterback, that attracts my eye a lot. I just trusted them and told them I’m in, and I want to go be the guy for you guys.”
In addition, playing in an elite conference like the SEC was important to Nawrot in his selection of the Wildcats.
Hersey football coach Tom Nelson has seen Nawrot grow from the moment he stepped onto campus. Now, he places paramount trust in his quarterback.
Nelson, who has been at Hersey for eight years, runs a pro-style offense that puts a lot on the quarterback’s plate. This year, he had the opportunity to call two plays in the huddle, similar to how professional teams operate.
“He’s the first person in our system to be able to handle that,” Nelson said. “It just speaks to him and his football IQ, but more importantly, his desire to learn and be great.”
From the moment he first picked up a football at age eight, inspired by his father, Paul Nawrot, a former University of Iowa linebacker, Jake Nawrot began to pave his path to Kentucky. He received his first offer from Toledo University in January 2025, before he ever started a varsity football game.
Now, after years of development, the Arlington Heights native has ascended to become one of the best young quarterbacks in the country.
Before he becomes an early enrollee at Kentucky, though, Nawrot’s work isn’t done. He is always looking to improve. Relentlessly, he pushes himself to become stronger, smarter and better.
“I just want to become unstoppable, as everyone else wants to be,” Nawrot said. “I’m far from that, so every day, I got to put in the work and hopefully get the deposits. This year, the goal is to win a state championship.”