Where does Jake Nawrot rank among the best QB recruits to sign with Kentucky?
At least one facet of Will Stein’s early bravado as Kentucky football coach looks justified more than four months from his first game.
“We have to sign great players,” Stein said at his introductory news conference. “Not OK players. We got to sign great players. That’s how you win.”
Stein turned heads by landing the 11th-ranked transfer portal class while balancing duties as Kentucky’s head coach and Oregon’s offensive coordinator in the playoff, but questions remained about how that success would translate to high school recruiting.
The new UK staff built recruiting buzz by convincing a number of blue chip prospects to visit Lexington in the winter and early spring, but Kentucky’s coaches were unable to make up for a late start in the highest profile decisions. Until the last week at least.
On Friday, four-star Alabama prep defensive lineman Elijah Brown picked Kentucky over Missouri and Auburn. Then Sunday, Stein and company raised expectations even higher by landing four-star Illinois prep quarterback Jake Nawrot, the No. 2-ranked quarterback in the class of 2027, according to the 247Sports Composite.
“We have every resource that we need right now to go build an elite 27 class,” Stein said earlier this spring. “We were building the relationships. Why wouldn’t you want to play in this offense? Why wouldn’t you want to play for for me and for Joe Sloan?”
The fact that Stein landed Nawrot before even coaching a game at Kentucky is a reflection of the reputation he and Sloan, UK’s offensive coordinator, built at their former jobs. Stein coached star quarterbacks Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore at Oregon. Sloan coached Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels and 2027 NFL draft prospect Garrett Nussmeier at LSU.
The staff will still have to prove that success can translate to Kentucky, where Notre Dame transfer Kenny Minchey will start at quarterback this fall, but if Nawrot signs with UK in December as planned, he will be one of the highest-ranked signees in program history.
His .9814 rating from the 247Sports Composite, which averages the rankings of the major recruiting sites, is fourth-highest for a UK commit in the recruiting website era, behind only offensive tackle Antonio Hall (2000), linebacker Micah Johnson (2006) and offensive lineman Kiyaunta Goodwin (2022). Hall and Johnson went on to be stars at Kentucky, while Goodwin played just one college season.
If Nawrot’s rating does not drop before signing day, he would be the most-hyped high school quarterback to sign with Kentucky since Tim Couch in 1996. But unlike the majority of blue chip quarterbacks to previously sign with UK, Nawrot, who plays high school football in a Chicago suburb, is not from the state.
Here is a look at the most hyped quarterbacks who have signed with UK in the recruiting website era.
Andre Woodson (2003)
The No. 7 pro-style quarterback in the class of 2023 according to Rivals, Woodson holds the UK record for career touchdown passes (79) and ranks second in career passing yards (9,360). He threw for 3,709 yards as a senior, third-most in a single season in program history.
Ryan Mossakowski (2009)
A four-star quarterback according to Rivals, Mossakowski never overcame a shoulder injury suffered as a senior in high school in Texas. He appeared in just two games at UK before transferring to Northwest Mississippi Community College. He finished his career at Lamar.
Morgan Newton (2009)
Newton joined Mossakowski in signing with Kentucky in 2009, marking the only time the school has signed multiple quarterbacks rated as four-star prospects by at least one site in the same class. ESPN ranked Newton as the No. 15 quarterback in the class. The Indiana native started games in four different seasons for UK but never lived up to his recruiting hype, completing just 50.3% of his passes.
Patrick Towles (2012)
Rivals and 247Sports both ranked Towles as a four-star prospect as a senior at Highlands High School. His commitment was viewed as a piece of hope late in the Joker Phillips era, but he was unable to save Phillips job. He redshirted in 2013, Mark Stoops’ first season as coach, then started games in 2014 and 2015. After being benched for the next quarterback on this list, Towles transferred to Boston College for his final college season. He did throw for 5,099 yards in his UK career.
Drew Barker (2014)
Barker’s commitment early in Stoops’ tenure was viewed as the same type of recruit that landing Nawrot was for Stein. Each of the major recruiting services rated him as a four-star prospect. He looked the part of a future star when he threw for 323 yards and four touchdowns in a season-opening loss to Southern Miss in 2016, but he suffered a back injury in that game that essentially ended his college career. He played in just six more games for UK, attempting 19 more passes.
Beau Allen (2020)
ESPN and Rivals ranked Allen as a four-star prospect as a senior at Lexington Catholic, but he spent the majority of his career as a backup. Allen transferred to FCS Tarleton State, where he did start for one season. He never got the chance to prove if that success could translate to the FCS as the NCAA forced him to sit out a season after transferring to Georgia Southern as a two-time transfer. He then transferred back to UK for two more seasons as a backup.
Cutter Boley (2024)
When Boley committed to UK as a junior at Lexington Christian Academy, he was rated as a five-star prospect in the class of 2025. After reclassifying to graduate a year earlier, he was dropped to a four-star prospect by ESPN, On3 and Rivals and a three-star prospect by 247Sports. Boley showed promise after being elevated to starter early in the 2025 season, throwing for 2,160 yards and 15 touchdowns. Stoops frequently pointed to Boley’s potential as his primary argument for being retained as coach, but after Stoops was fired and Stein was hired to replace him Boley entered the transfer portal. He signed with Arizona State, where he is expected to start this fall.
Matt Ponatoski (2026)
Where Nawrot slots in UK’s quarterback pecking order as a freshman could depend on what happens with Ponatoski, who committed to Stoops but was also recruited to Oregon by Stein. The Cincinnati native plans to play football and baseball at UK, but he is considered a possible early round pick in the MLB draft in July. There remains a chance he never makes it to UK if he elects to sign a professional baseball contract. If he does follow through on the plan to play both sports in college, Ponatoski should compete with redshirt freshman Brennen Ward and Marshall transfer JacQai Long for the backup job behind Minchey this fall. ESPN ranks him as the No. 7 quarterback in the 2026 class.