Dylan Raiola on debut at Memorial Stadium: 'I fought back tears'

Nebraska fans were given their first look at incoming freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola during the Cornhuskers’ annual Red-White spring game on Saturday.

He would go on to put together a strong performance for those inside Memorial Stadium, where many believe it will be the first of many for the former five-star recruit. Nothing compares to the first time, however, and Raiola tried to put into words what it was like taking the field in a game-like setting for the first time.

“I was emotional, you know, fighting tears walking out the tunnel for the tunnel walk,” Raiola told media after the scrimmage. “Growing up as a kid, that’s what I knew and that’s what I watched. So being a part of it, you come out of tunnel and you hear the song. It just got heavy for me, so I’m just thankful for the fans coming out and it was a fun experience.”

Raiola, whose father played for the Huskers from 1998-2000, would play for both the white and red team during Saturday’s showcase. He played the most for the white squad, where he completed 10 of 16 passes for 121 yards and an interception. More impressively, during his time on the red team he completed all six of his passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns.

Overall, he was 16 of 22 for 239 passing yards with two touchdowns and an interception. It was a strong first impression for the blue-chip quarterback, who many consider the QB of the future under Matt Rhule.

Despite his big day, he doesn’t remember the first couple of snaps of it. “I kind of blacked out, but after that it was just playing ball and have fun,” Raiola said.

It wasn’t always a done deal that Raiola would be a Husker, however. He was originally committed to Ohio State before decommitting in December of 2022 and choosing Georgia several months later in March of 2023. He went on an official visit to Nebraska on Dec. 15 last year and three days later, he broke things off with Georgia, committed to Nebraska and two days later would signing his national letter of intent to play for Matt Rhule.

Now, Raiola can take this strong spring performance and use it as motivation for the rest of the summer and into the fall.

It remains to be seen how the Nebraska quarterback battle will end up playing out. Last season’s main starter Heinrich Haarberg threw for 163 yards and two touchdowns during the spring game as well, and is expected to give the incoming true freshman some legitimate competition this summer as Raiola continues his transition to the college football level.