'Nebraska Deserves to Be Back on the Map': Dylan Raiola Aims to Lead the Revival

LAS VEGAS — As Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule flitted from one ballroom to the next at Big Ten Media Days last month, he shared thousands of words in response to an avalanche of questions about quarterback Dylan Raiola, the former five-star phenom who became a true freshman starter for the Cornhuskers last fall.

From the moment Raiola made his stunning commitment to Nebraska on Dec. 18, 2023, offering yet another twist in a high-profile recruiting process that previously included verbal pledges to both Ohio State (seven months) and Georgia (seven months), his every move enthralled a passionate fan base desperate to reenter the national conversation as college football ushered in an expanded 12-team playoff. Raiola’s father, Dominic Raiola, earned consensus All-American honors as an offensive lineman for the Cornhuskers a quarter-century ago before enjoying a lengthy NFL career with the Detroit Lions. His uncle, Donovan Raiola, became Nebraska’s offensive line coach a year before Rhule took over and has remained with the program ever since.

Winning the race to sign the next Raiola, who was the No. 21 overall prospect and No. 3 quarterback in the 2024 recruiting cycle, trailing only Julian Sayin (Alabama) and DJ Lagway (Florida) at that position, helped fuse the Cornhuskers’ rich history with what they hope will be an equally promising future.

For at least the next two seasons — and perhaps longer if Raiola spends four years in college — much of the program’s trajectory hinges on its quarterback, the second-best recruit in school history behind former tailback Marlon Lucky, whose career at Nebraska began the same year Raiola was born. It’s one of the reasons why Raiola was among the quartet of players flanking Rhule during the league’s preview event last month in Las Vegas, even though he’s just a sophomore. Because if the 2024 campaign was about Raiola easing into college football as a teenager in an increasingly mature sport, then Rhule knows the upcoming season will be more of a showcase for the unquestioned face of Nebraska’s program.

"I think our team is going to play for Dylan," Rhule said. "And I love coaching the young man."

References to Raiola’s age — he turned 20 earlier this year — were quite frequent during Rhule’s various sessions at Big Ten Media Days, especially when he was asked about the quarterback’s growth from Year 1 to Year 2. Rhule wanted reporters to know that it wasn’t easy for Raiola, who was only 18 when he enrolled in January 2024, to vocally command an offense and a locker room that housed fifth- and sixth-year seniors, some of whom were nearly seven years his elder. Raiola approached the experience with reverence and caution, believing he needed to "earn my stripes, earn respect from my teammates," independent of his ascension on the depth chart, as Rhule declared him the starter after three weeks of camp last August.

The adjustment was in keeping with the uphill battle Rhule had pitched to Raiola during the recruiting process, when he encouraged the legacy quarterback to bypass playing for "the best team in the country," which, at that time, was presumably Georgia, for the chance to turn the Cornhuskers around after seven consecutive losing seasons. He outlined a vision in which achieving something difficult at Nebraska "is how we become great," particularly in the eyes of such loyal fans. And Rhule believed that the struggles Raiola would undoubtedly navigate while playing for a rebuilding program might double as valuable experience for his eventual transition to the NFL, where a downtrodden franchise might one day draft him.

"I think as a young quarterback [it’s about] handling those adverse moments," Rhule said. "The thing I love about Dylan is he always wants the ball in his hands. He’s never, like, shied away from that. He’ll be the guy that wants to make the play. A lot of guys want to shoot a lot of shots, but they don’t want to take a shot at the buzzer. Who wants to take the shot at the buzzer? And he wants to take the shot at the buzzer."

It meant that Raiola, like so many other quarterbacks in similar positions, endured both the pulsating highs and soul-crushing lows of college football during his first season. An intoxicating 5-1 start that included a rollicking victory over historical rival Colorado gave way to a crushing 49-point loss to then-No. 16 Indiana that included three interceptions from Raiola. An impressive drubbing of Wisconsin in the penultimate game of the regular season — Raiola threw for 293 yards and one touchdown while snapping a streak of five consecutive outings with at least one INT — was quickly forgotten when Raiola fumbled in the waning seconds against Iowa the following week, ushering in Nebraska’s fifth one-possession defeat of the year. That result sunk the Cornhuskers’ record to 3-10 under Rhule in one-score games and became the program’s 23rd such loss over the last four seasons, the most in FBS during that span.

By the time Nebraska's season ended in late December, with Rhule becoming the first Cornhuskers' coach to finish over .500 and win a bowl game in the same year since Bo Pelini in 2013, the freshman campaign from Raiola could be viewed through several distinct lenses: the opening five games in which Raiola produced nine touchdowns and only two turnovers; the remaining eight games in which Raiola contributed just four touchdowns while committing 11 turnovers; the final three games under newly promoted offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen, two of which were victories, that saw Raiola complete 72% of his passes and throw more touchdowns than interceptions; the victory over Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl that ended with Raiola high-fiving fans at Yankee Stadium as Nebraska’s faithful dreamed about what could be with their budding star at the helm.

And despite all the ups and downs, Raiola still finished the season with more passing yards (2,819) than any other true freshman in the country.

"Nebraska deserves to be back on the map," Raiola said. "And it’s not because of me or something that I did. It’s just the type of program it is. It’s a program ready to go win. And it’s one of those types of programs that’s going to be put back on top. Like we said earlier, those hard things, those hard times will all come to fruition if you just keep going and stay at it. Good things will happen."

Plenty of good things happened for Nebraska over the winter and spring as Rhule, who has won at least 10 games in Year 3 at each of his previous two collegiate stops, continues to surround his quarterback with the kind of talent necessary to compete for a berth in the College Football Playoff, be that on the coaching staff or the roster itself.

In early December, amid Nebraska’s preparation for its bowl game, the Cornhuskers reached a two-year agreement with Holgorsen to become the program’s full-time offensive coordinator. It’s a role that Holgorsen, best known for his head-coaching stints at West Virginia and Houston, last held at Texas Tech (2007), Houston (2008-09) and Oklahoma State (2010) while overseeing offenses that all scored at least 40 points per game. Nebraska hasn’t averaged 30 points per game since 2018, when former coach Scott Frost and then-offensive coordinator Troy Walters installed their spread-option scheme.

Rhule’s retention of Holgorsen preempted an impressive period of player acquisition via the transfer portal that equipped Raiola with a handful of noteworthy plug-and-play starters at premium positions. Former Alabama right tackle Elijah Pritchett (No. 45 transfer, No. 6 OT) and former Notre Dame right guard Rocco Spindler (No. 139 transfer, No. 10 IOL) should solidify an offensive line that finished tied for 78th nationally in sacks allowed last season. While former Kentucky wideout Dane Key (No. 34 transfer, No. 10 WR) and former Cal wideout Nyziah Hunter (No. 200 transfer, No. 35 WR) can anchor a passing attack that must replace three of its top four options.

"The reason why I believe that we're about to make the jump is because each and every day, whether it's our administration, whether it's the people around us, no one is saying, ‘It's this person's fault, it's that person's fault,’" Rhule said. "Everyone is owning the product. Yes, we have to win more, that's the deal. But we came into a program that we knew was going to take a little bit of time to fix. I think we're close to fixed."

Raiola is certainly doing his part, too, beginning with a commitment to reshape his body and shed some of the teenage softness that still clung to his frame last season. Through a combination of extra running, speed work and an improved diet — all of which, he said, are designed to keep him healthy during what Nebraska hopes will be a lengthy 2025 campaign — Raiola arrived at Big Ten Media Days feeling much better physically than at this time last year. He now resembles something closer to a grown man.

And Raiola certainly looked the part in Las Vegas while sporting a custom black suit, red spiked shoes and with his pocket square and lapel pin perfectly arranged. Because anywhere Nebraska goes these days, Raiola is the unquestioned star of the show.

"As much as I didn’t want hard things to happen at our program," Raiola said, "like Coach Rhule would tell me, they happen. And I’m still here now, right? Our team is ready. I’m excited. We have a bunch of great dudes ready to go play this year."

Michael Cohen covers college football and college basketball for FOX Sports. Follow him at @Michael_Cohen13.