Nebraska high school football fans got a preview of the level of quarterback talent they’ll see this fall in the Omaha Metro as power conference commits Trae Taylor of Millard South and Braylen Warren of Omaha Westside led their teams to the NebPreps 7v7 State Championship final.
Warren, a three-year starter for the Warriors, committed to Missouri in December. The 6-foot-1 senior is a four-star prospect ranked as the 13th-best quarterback in the 2027 class by 247Sports.
Taylor, originally from Illinois, committed to Nebraska in May of 2025. After three years at Carmel in Mundelein, Ill., he decided to move to Nebraska and spend his senior season at Millard South. The 6-foot-3 signal caller is a five-star prospect and the top quarterback in the senior class for 247Sports.
Friday afternoon’s championship game at the NebPreps 7v7 is the first of multiple meetings between the two talented quarterbacks, and the duel lived up to the hype. Both delivered some big-time throws and put points on the board, but the Patriots emerged victorious in the end, 39-26.
Nebraska commits tay Ellis and Trae Taylor (51) celebrate after a big play for Millard South at the NebPreps 7v7 State Championship. Photo by Jackson Luethje.
Millard South led 30-28 with a couple minutes to play, but Taylor needed just one play to widen the gap, finding fellow Nebraska commit Tay Ellis on a 40-yard bomb. Westside stopped the extra point to give itself a chance with little time remaining, but Warren took a couple shots toward the end zone, and Millard South senior Aidan Marshall picked the second one off in the final seconds to seal it.
“It was great, it’s our first win as a team, first win as a team, not even our full team,” Taylor said. “First win as skilled positions, so we needed this … [but] it means absolutely nothing. We’ve still got to play in week nine, and probably the state championship, so we’ve got two more matches with them, hopefully. This was just the start of it. Hopefully we go 3-0, but I know they’re going to come back with more energy and more fire.”
Taylor threw for 3,571 yards and 38 touchdowns while completing 81.7% of his passes and adding another 633 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground as a junior at Carmel. He first earned the starting job there as a sophomore, throwing for 3,061 yards and 20 touchdowns while rushing for 342 yards and four more scores.
Taylor made two of the best plays of tournament, one in pool play Friday and the other in the quarterfinals Saturday, and they both involved evading a blitz before finding a receiver in the end zone. First, against Bergan Catholic, Taylor nearly ran from sideline to sideline with a pair of Knights chasing him before uncorking a ball back across his body that Isaac Tomhave pulled down in the back of the end zone. Then against Council Bluffs Lewis Central (Ia.), Taylor again evaded two blitzers before finding Ellis for the game-winning touchdown in the final minute to secure a 41-39 win.
Friday was fans’ first opportunity to see Ellis play in Nebraska outside of Millard South’s passing league. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound receiver from Fort Worth, Texas, committed to the Huskers in November, and like Taylor, he chose to move to Nebraska and enroll at Millard South for his senior season. Ellis racked up 2,310 yards and 27 touchdowns on 156 receptions during his three seasons at Crowley in Texas.
Taylor and Ellis talked about how close they’ve already become, and that chemistry was apparent on the field Saturday as Ellis secured double-digit touchdowns in Millard South’s four bracket games.
“We’re only gonna get better, only gonna get better,” Taylor said of the connection.
Taylor said living in Nebraska has been everything he thought it would be. He called the adjustment to Millard South’s system “pretty easy.”
“Actually, I’m sometimes telling our guys what we’ve got to do, so I’m learning it pretty fast, and it’s good,” Taylor said. “It feels good to be in a position where if they have a question or anything, I can answer for them … I knew these guys before I kind of fully moved. I’ve been in the group chat for months now.”
Millard South coach Taylor Mendenhall praised the way his new starting quarterback has handled the transition, especially considering the back-to-back Class A state champions only have two starters returning following the graduation of a 31-player senior class.
“He’s super mature, he makes good decisions, the ball gets out quick and he’s just a natural leader too,” Mendenhall said. “Kids look up to him, and he knows how to rally the troops when a play needs to get made.”
Taylor said in addition to being present for recruiting visits, he hopes to use his proximity to his college program to master the offense as best he can so he’s ready to hit the ground running once he sets foot on campus.
As for Warren, with his future decided, he’s enjoyed a stress-free offseason spent proving himself as one of the nation’s best and continuing to develop his game.
“It’s been really good,” Warren said. “It’s been really fun being out here, competing against the top guys in the nation at Elite 11 and going to be at The Opening, and then being back home, competing with my friends against the people I know in the state. It’s been really fun.”
Warren assumed the starting role for Westside as a sophomore, passing for 2,105 yards and 30 touchdowns while completing 67.1% of his attempts. As a junior on a run-first team, he threw for 1,847 yards and 27 touchdowns while upping his rushing production to 288 yards and three scores.
Omaha Westside quarterback Braylen Warren drops back to pass during the NebPreps 7v7 State Championship. Photo by Braden Cochran.
“Obviously, he has an arm that is pretty special, and he’s very accurate, he’s very smooth in the pocket,” Westside coach Paul Limongi said of his signal caller. “He’s able to pick up things and really fit that ball into in the tight windows. He has a good understanding of coverage, and he just loves to go out there and compete. He loves to play quarterback. He’s constantly learning and finding ways to get better, and he just loves being out on the field playing, so you can’t ask for much more.”
Limongi said he’s seen significant growth in Warren’s leadership and knowledge of the offense over the past few years.
“Now that he’s senior, he’s taking really good command and helping others, and just feels even more comfortable than he has in the past,” Limongi said. “He’s really developed; he had a good offseason in terms of his strength and his speed, and his arm strength. He’s healthy, so I just think he looks good, and you know he’s just ready to have a really good senior season. I think he’s excited for his teammates, and hopefully come the fall, we’ll be ready to go.”
Westside returns its workhorse running back in Tay Tay Jenkins after he rushed for 1,866 yards and 28 touchdowns as a junior, but the Warriors’ top three wideouts were all seniors last season. Westside will count on Bellevue West transfer Bryce Johnson Jr. (a North Dakota commit), Omaha Central transfer Yasir Grixby (a junior), returning senior Adrian Gonzales and others to fill the void, and they all looked sharp on Thursday and Friday as Westside made its run to the championship game.
“Everyone has each other’s backs and everything,” Warren said of his receiving corps. “Everyone loves each other, all good friends and everything, so there’s no bad blood or anything, no whining for the ball, which I’ve got to love as a quarterback. It’s been a really good chemistry group.”
Warren said he wasn’t really shocked when he learned that Taylor was transferring to Millard South.
“I think it’s going to be really fun,” Warren said. “It’s going to be a fun experience going against them. There’s going to be a big crowd going against them. I’m not mad at it at all, and so I’m excited to play.”
The championship included some chippiness and a lot of talking, but as soon as the final buzzer sounded Taylor and Warren met at midfield to show respect for each other. The two have forged a bond this summer.
“I was with him at the Elite 11,” Taylor said. “We roomed together at the Elite 11. That relationship has grown quite a bit, I feel like, and he’s just my guy. If I need anything, I go to him. If he needs anything, he’ll come to me, for sure.”
Warren said the two spent time at Elite 11 Finals — featuring 20 of the top quarterbacks in the country — discussing football in Nebraska and what Taylor can expect from other teams. Taylor went on to earn MVP honors from Rivals at the Elite 11 Finals, and both Nebraska quarterbacks earned a spot among the final 11 who will compete for MVP honors at Nike’s The Opening in Beaverton, Ore., on June 26.
“All the top quarterbacks in the nation are pretty down to earth, low egos, and so just being around them, it was a really fun time,” Warren said. “That’s probably my favorite experience. My favorite thing from there was just being around the guys.”
Taylor said this season won’t be his first time competing against another power conference quarterback. Back in Illinois, he squared off against another Elite 11 participant.
“I played against [Miami commit] Israel Abrams two years in a row, and he’s my guy too,” Taylor said. “It’s just keeping that good relationship, because we both know there aren’t a lot of people in this area that have gone through what we go through.”
Friday’s showdown between Taylor and Warren — and the talented teams around them — was just a preview of what fans can expect to see under the Friday night lights this fall.
“I think Nebraska football in general, high school football in general, has elevated in the last decade, absolutely, so it’s good that we keep having events like this, and I’m ready for the real football to start,” Mendenhall said.
