2027 QB Trae Taylor Talks Notre Dame Return

Trae Taylor‍ has been attacking the recruiting process from the start and the 2027 Illinois quarterback has grabbed the attention of - and scholarship offer from - some of the nation’s top programs.

This past weekend, Taylor was back at Notre Dame for the Irish’s game against Louisville.

“It was a good game,” he said. “We ended up leaving at halftime, but overall, from the first half, what we saw, it was a good game and we enjoyed ourselves for the first half.”

Last Friday, the Carmel Catholic High School standout added LSU to a list that already included schools like Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, LSU, Tennessee, Miami and Oklahoma among several others. 

Prior to the game, Taylor was able to speak with head coach Marcus Freeman and quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli, 

“They kept it quick,” he explained. “Coach Freeman said he wanted me to keep coming back down to South Bend and make it feel like home. Coach Gino said that he was going to look over the film from the past couple of weeks of me playing, and he was excited to see what I was doing.”

Despite all of the offers he’s already received, Taylor understands that won’t impact what Guidugli sees for himself. 

“He also has his own perspective of what he sees in a quarterback,” said Taylor. “At the end of the day, it's what he sees, not based on what other coaches are seeing.”

Taylor has been impressed with how the Irish offense is playing to Riley Leonard’s strengths.

“I was able to go there in the spring and see what they were doing with him as far as preparation for the season,” he said. “I wanted to come back to a game and see how he was able to play.

“Honestly, I think that they're utilizing him really good as far as how good he is in the run game and the pass game. I think for me, I see myself in the offense a little bit, just maybe not how much they're running him, but overall, I do like what they're doing with Riley.”

While it’s not a perfect comparison, Taylor likes to see the Irish coaches cater their scheme to fit players. 

He visits Nebraska next and is also planning trips to Alabama, LSU and Illinois.

He isn’t sure where he goes from here with the Irish.

“I do not know what's next for me in Notre Dame, so we will have to figure that out.”

He does know what he’s looking for in a school.

“Really the education and the people I'm putting myself around, not only on the field, but also off the field.”

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