Tennessee Becoming Early Contender For Top 2027 Quarterback

2027 Trae Taylor talks Tennessee and ties to Coach Joey Halzle from his young career

Tennessee quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle during Tennessee football practice at Haslam Field in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022. The Vols are preparing to play in the Orange Bowl against Clemson on Dec. 30. Ut Football Practice / Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Tennessee has done an excellent job recruiting quarterbacks since Josh Heupel made it to campus. Heupel has landed four quarterbacks including Nico Iamaleava, Jake Merklinger, George MacIntyre, and Faizon Brandon. It’s safe to say they locate their targets early on and have done just that in the 2027 class.

Trae Taylor is a Lake In The Hills, Illinois prospect who attends Carmel Catholic High School. Taylor is a four-star target who recently received his Tennessee offer and offers from 20+ schools as a current sophomore in high school. Many anticipate him to be a five-star.

He caught up with Tennessee on SI following his offer.

“It is a special offer to me. Tennessee was one of the first schools my dad took me to when I was younger. This helped me to dream about playing in front of over 100k fans one day,” the 2027 QB states. “It was Coach Halzle and Coach Militello who offered me. They just said they watched my film and loved it. They think I’d be a great fit for them with the things I do. (Which I do agree with). Tennessee, once they started recruiting me has been very consistent,” Taylor stated.

He will visit Rocky Top sooner than later and is working on finding a date soon. “I’m most definitely going to visit.  We are trying to figure out a good date to make this happen. But I’m definitely getting down there this season.” Tennessee is already making noise being listed in Taylor’s early edition of a top 10 that has not been finalized. “Tennessee right now is in my top 10.  As a QB who wouldn’t want to play in an offense where you know they throw it around?  Play in an amazing stadium, and home of Peyton Manning. The fan base has already shown a ton of love on social media. I have already seen the facilities multiple times so I know what that is.”

Moving forward the prospect hopes to connect well with this staff. “I want to see if we connect and if they can develop me to be a 1st round draft pick. Now that I have the offer I’ll make sure to reach out to Joe Milton and get his feedback on things.”

“My biggest message is if this is the school I pick, just know I give my all to be great. That will not change at Tennessee. So keep showing that Tennessee love and I’ll see you soon.”

He also had a story to share about Coach Joey Halzle.

“Just know the first time Coach Halzle saw me throw I was in 6th or 7th grade and I had a great conversation with him and the rest of the staff.  Been a long time coming.  Coach still has not followed me on Twitter like he said years ago,” Taylor said jokingly…”But this offer makes up for that.”

Other Tennessee News:

• Tennessee Moves Into Top Five of AP Poll After Oklahoma Win
• Offensive Grade Report: Tennessee Vs Oklahoma
• Tennessee Defeats Oklahoma 25-15 On The Road
  

Join the Community:

• Follow Evan Crowell on Twitter: @EvanVCrowell
  
• Follow Blake Schowalter on Twitter: @BlakeSchowalte1
  

You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top right-hand corner of the page. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook @VolunteerCountry & follow us on Twitter at @VCountryFN.