‘Edgy’ Tim: Hersey’s Nawrot skyrockets in national recruiting ratings

When it comes to the college football recruiting world, the one certainty is things are always moving and changing.

If anyone can relate, it's Hersey junior quarterback Jake Nawrot (6-foot-5, 200 pounds).

Nawrot has been on a nonstop roller coaster ride when it comes to his sports schedule and football recruiting. The last few days are a prime example of just how fast-paced his life has been.

On Friday night, Nawrot hit the basketball count and dropped 16 points in helping the Huskies win the Class 4A Prospect regional title. They advanced to Tuesday night’s Fremd sectional semifinals to face Palatine.

Saturday morning, Nawrot got into the car with his family and headed to Indianapolis to take part in the Elite 11 regional camp. The Elite 11 is one of the top quarterback national showcase camps and includes a who's who of highly-ranked quarterbacks from across the Midwest. Nawrot was named the camp MVP by Rivals.com Vice President of National Football Recruiting Steve Wiltfong, one of multiple national observers who agreed Nawrot had an exceptional camp.

Nawrot remained in Indianapolis on Sunday to take part in the Nike Camp. He then planned to join his TNT 7-on-7 teammates (yes, Nawrot also does travel 7-on-7) in the afternoon to play in a tournament. Whew.

“It's … a busy weekend, but I also remember last year at this time I really didn't do any of these things. So far it's been a very cool experience,” Nawrot said. “I really just appreciate all of the exposure and recognition. I'm still pretty new to all of this so I'm learning more and more every day. Things can change really fast and that's been the case over the last few months. It's all been blessings.”

Last week Rivals.com released it's updated Rivals300, which ranks the nation’s top 300 recruits in the Class of 2027. Nawrot made a huge jump, going from the 25th best quarterback in the nation to No. 2 and the 32nd overall recruit.

The number of Nawrot's college offers has grown to 19, including his latest offer on Saturday from Florida State. He has spring visits planned so far to Oklahoma State, Kentucky, Iowa, Washington and Kansas State. He's also drawing increased attention from Alabama, Arkansas and Notre Dame.

Nawrot's ranking surge pushed him above fellow junior standout quarterbacks from Illinois. Montini’s Israel Abrams is the No. 3 QB and 44th overall recruit nationally. Carmel Catholic and Nebraska-bound Trae Taylor is the sixth QB and 71st recruit nationally.

How has Nawrot leaped from Midwest unknown to the second-highest ranked quarterback recruit in the nation?

“He's been just terrific,” Wiltfong said. “He has all the traits coveted at the position. He stepped in right away last year and had a great season, then at Elite 11 showed no signs of slowing down. What made his performance even more impressive is he's focused on a run in the basketball playoffs. He wins a big game Friday night, then drove down to Indianapolis and was the best in the building. He has natural ability and seems to have the intangibles as far as from a competitive standpoint, lack of entitlement and just being a great teammate.”