The 3-2-1: June Recruiting blitz begins, QB Trae Taylor all-in and NU eyes punting edge

Nebraska’s June recruiting blitz begins, Trae Taylor shines in Lincoln, ESPN ranks NU No. 25, and special teams could take a big step.

We hit on that and more in this week’s 3-2-1 column with the latest insights, key questions, and one bold prediction.

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THREE THINGS WE LEARNED THIS WEEK

1 – The June madness begins for Nebraska

We got the appetizer for June on Sunday, with head coach Matt Rhule’s first football camp, now let the madness begin.

The Hudl recruiting event, featuring over 20 top 2027 and 2028 recruits, will take place this week. Additionally, NU’s Boneyard 7-on-7 event and an official visitor weekend will occur, both of which feature 10 key 2026 Husker targets. Then on Sunday, we will get yet another Rhule prospect camp.

Recruiting activity has been very slow over the last couple of months, mainly because official visits do not start until this weekend. Once these visits begin, you will see Nebraska get much more aggressive on filling spots in the 2026 recruiting class.

2 – QB Trae Taylor’s level of commitment to NU is high

If we learned anything this week about Nebraska’s recruiting, it’s that the 2027 class is in excellent hands.

Four-star quarterback Trae Taylor has spent the entire week in Lincoln. He camped this past Sunday and will be a part of the Hudl recruiting event, as well as pop in at both the 7-on-7 and official visitor weekend. Then on Sunday, Taylor told HuskerOnline he will most likely camp again.

Between all that, Taylor has found time to give his food review on Runza, share his thoughts about Godfather’s Pizza, and other local Lincoln spots he likes to hit. Taylor still has two full years of high school remaining, but as he said, this will all go quickly. By this time next year, Taylor will have just one semester remaining in high school before it’s time to enroll at Nebraska.

His personality and willingness to already embrace NU are going to set him up nicely for the future. His name and brand are only going to get bigger over the next two years, but it’s hard not to be impressed with what we’ve already seen out of Taylor.

3 – ESPN FPI ranks Nebraska No. 25 with an 86 percent chance to win 6+ games

We all love preseason polls. ESPN released its Football Power Index poll, and Nebraska came in at No. 25 overall, with an 86 percent chance to win 6 or more games.

I think every Husker fan will take that projection right now, but the reality is many would like to see 8 or more wins to label this season as progress.

What I like about 2025 is NU’s schedule. The Huskers play four of the six bottom Big Ten teams in the ESPN FPI – Michigan State, Maryland, Northwestern and UCLA. There are just three teams ranked above them – Penn State, Michigan and USC.

The season really will come down to the five swing-type games Nebraska plays against teams ranked No. 17 through 47 in the poll. As we know, there’s not much that separates teams like this.

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TWO QUESTIONS THIS WEEK

1 – What does a typical week consist of for the football team in June workouts?

The month of June is here for the Nebraska football team. What does a typical week consist of for the Huskers?

In June, Division I football teams can conduct up to 20 hours of countable athletically related activities per week, with a maximum of 4 hours per day, during 14 days before the start of fall practices. You are also required to have two days off per week.

So you will see NU conduct three OTA walkthrough-style practices with a football, where the primary focus is on installation the offense and defense.  In addition to this, there are intense lifting, conditioning, and meeting schedules. It is a full four-hour schedule Monday through Friday, really for the next two months.

Live 11-on-11 work or 7-on-7 drills with coaches present are not allowed. The only time coaching instruction is allowed is during the walkthrough, OTA-style practices.

2 – How much bigger could Nebraska’s 7-on-7 event get in the future?

Nebraska’s 7-on-7 event in 2025 has the chance to be huge on Friday. How much bigger can NU make it? The key point I’d like to emphasize is that it’s not necessarily about the total number of teams. A Nebraska official told me they could easily handle anywhere from 12 to 20 teams, but they really don’t want it much bigger than that.

It’s more about the quality of teams and how many top national Adidas-sponsored teams you can get to Lincoln, along with any other high-level programs.

The other challenge is selecting the correct date. Having it on a Friday eliminates almost all the 2026 recruits, as they’ll be on official visits. If there were a way to play it more during the middle of the week, you may be able to get more top senior-to-be prospects here, as well as underclassmen.

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ONE PREDICTION: Nebraska will pin 20+ punts inside the 20-yard line in 2025

A year ago, Nebraska pinned 16 punts inside the 20-yard line with Brian Buschini, compared to 20 by opponents. To put that in perspective, back in 2021, a low point for NU punting, they placed 12 inside the 20-yard line, compared to 23 by opponents. 2018 was not much better at a -9 margin.

NU has not won in this area since 2017 under the leadership of Mike Riley (21-18). In 2014, Sam Foltz put 26 punts inside the 20-yard line. I’ll make this prediction right now: Nebraska will win in this area under Mike Ekeler and new punter Archie Wilson. They will place over 20 punts inside the 20-yard line in 2025.

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Sean Callahan can be reached at sean@huskeronline.com and is heard daily at 6:45 am and 5:05 pm on Big Red Radio 1110 KFAB in Omaha during the football season. He can also be seen on KETV Channel 7 in Omaha during the fall, and each week, he appears on Nebraska Public Media’s Big Red Wrap-Up Tuesdays at 7 pm.

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