Dylan Raiola injury: Matt Rhule commends Nebraska QB's toughness, shares excitement for TJ Lateef

Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola broke his fibula in the third quarter of the Cornhuskers’ 21-17 loss to USC on Saturday. At the time, Raiola didn’t know the severity of his injury and even wanted to go back into the game.

However, with the advice of Nebraska’s medical staff, Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule held Raiola out for the remainder of the game. During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Thursday, Rhule revealed how he learned about the severity of Raiola’s season-ending injury.

“You sit there and you think he’s going to sprain his ankle. He wants to go. He’s out there. He’s trying to hobble around,” Rhule said. “I said, ‘Buddy, listen. I love you too much to put you out here when you can’t move.’ Get back home after the game and they say, ‘Hey, guess what? He broke his fibula.’ I mean, just the toughness of that kid to want to go out there and play. So, you’re devastated for him. You’re devastated for your team.

“You wake up the next morning and you have to tell the guys like, ‘Hey, I know how disappointed you are. I know how much you put into this. But, as a team, we have to rally around TJ [Lateef] because he’s an excellent young quarterback, and he’s going to have his first college start as a freshman going back home to LA, playing a hot, hot UCLA team, coming off a bye. We all have to be great teammates, man. We all have to just do a little bit more.”

Raiola’s injury occurred with 12:04 remaining in the third quarter against USC. Raiola’s leg became trapped under his own body when he was sacked from behind.

At the time of Raiola’s injury, Nebraska led USC 14-6. Raiola completed 10-of-his-15 pass attempts for 91 yards and a touchdown, without throwing an interception, before leaving the game.

Dylan Raiola finished the season with 2,000 passing yards and 18 touchdowns, compared to just six interceptions. He posted an impressive 72.4% completion percentage. Raiola underwent successful surgery on Wednesday.

True freshman quarterback TJ Lateef replaced Raiola after his injury on Saturday. Lateef completed 5-of-his-7 pass attempts for seven total yards. He also rushed six times for 18 combined yards. The Cornhuskers will need to Lateef to step up his game this weekend against UCLA.

“You get into coaching, and you want to have all these amazing moments, but these are the moments where you earn your stripes, right? Where you prove what you can do,” Rhule said. “You have to do a great job for your team. So, instead of being in your own feelings, I think you have to really think about your guys.”

Nebraska and UCLA will square off at 8 p.m. CT on Saturday. The game will air live on FOX.