Dylan Raiola was one of the biggest stories of this past college football recruiting cycle after flipping his commitment from Georgia to Nebraska. The five-star quarterback surprised many by turning down a current power like the Bulldogs for a rebuilding team like the Cornhuskers.
However, there is more to the story. Raiola’s father, Dominic, is a former Nebraska center who was a redshirt freshman on the 1997 national championship team. He won the Rimington Trophy as the nation’s top center in 2000 and has his No. 54 jersey retired by the school.
Although the Huskers have not had a winning season since 2016, Raiola understand the rich history and tradition of the program. He decided that he wanted to be a part of restoring it.
“I wanted to do something different,” the QB said on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast. “I think it’s normal for the five-star guys to go to Alabama, Georgia, Clemson — which they can do all that. But I think having the legacy my dad left here. Name’s in the stadium, so much history in this place. I was like, ‘Lincoln, Nebraska is a special place.’ They just need to have winners in the program and go make it happen.”
Nebraska is coming off of a 5-7 finish in the inaugural season for coach Matt Rhule. However, Raiola could see signs of growth as the year went on.
The Huskers lost all but two games this past year by double digits, giving him faith that they truly were just a few pieces away from competing. He hopes no he can be one of those cogs as he aims to compete for the starting job this season.
“Coach Rhule always preached to me what he wanted to do for this program, but for me I needed to see it,” he said. “Even though they went 5-7, I think there’s a lot of things that happened that they could have been 11-1 and just lose to Michigan. So I took that as a positive and I actually was here for the Michigan game. I felt a different vibe than when I came before, so I felt like, ‘let’s do it.'”
Dylan Raiola, the No. 3 quarterback in the 2024 cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking, will compete with returning starter Heinrich Haarberg to start this fall. He’ll have a few more months to prove himself before Nebraska opens the season on Aug. 31 against UTEP.
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