Dylan Raiola could be 'turning point' of Matt Rhule era at Nebraska

Dylan Raiola could very well be the turning point of the Matt Rhule era at Nebraska, according to On3’s Pete Nakos.

Raiola had quite the recruitment where he committed to Georgia and it looked like the Bulldogs would get another five-star and dominate the cycle again. But a late flip for the Big Red stunned the college football world.

Now, this is a quarterback who could start as a true freshman and put an early stamp on Rhule’s tenure at Nebraska. On3’s Andy Staples agreed with Nakos’ take.

“I think that was another one that, this is a unique situation because he’s a legacy at Nebraska,” Staples said on his show. “But we got a guy who decided not to go to the super power where he would have been stacked up with some other really good quarterback recruits and have to compete for that job and have to wait out Carson Beck. Instead he goes to Nebraska. Remember Kyle McCord was on a visit and about the same time. Suddenly Kyle McCord and Nebraska weren’t going to come together. 

“It certainly sounds like Dylan Raiola will be given every opportunity to be the starting quarterback in Nebraska this year. So this the sort of thing we wonder will this happen? We’ve seen it with Nico going to Tennessee, Raiola going to Nebraska where perhaps NIL  does change the way people look at this stuff.”

If Raiola starts right away, there will be pressure on all parties. Still, it could bring plenty of juice to the program.

“And on a bigger level too, right. like I think we won’t know the answer for I guess three years,” Nakos said on Andy Staples On3. “But does Dylan Raiola going to Nebraska prove to be the turning point of the Matt Rhule era for the Huskers? I mean, he’s got all the tools …  It looks like a great pickup. I guess we’ll have to kind of see how it plays out.”

Rhule is a big fan of his new quarterback, but it’ll be a long spring season to see if Raiola is ready to go in the fall.

As a member of the Class of 2024, Raiola was a five-star recruit out of Buford (Ga.) High, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 2 overall prospect in the state, the No. 3 quarterback in the class and the No. 21 overall prospect in the class.