'I will if you do': Isaac Gifford, Bryce Benhart announce return to Nebraska in 2024
“Are you coming back?” Nebraska safety Isaac Gifford asked offensive tackle Bryce Benhart.
“Are you?” Benhart asked his teammate.
“I mean, I will if you do,” Gifford concluded.
Just like that Gifford and Benhart are Huskers for another year. Siri, play ‘Do You Believe in Magic.’ Check out the heartwarming, and entertaining announcement below:
Both Gifford and Benhart have spent the last four seasons in Lincoln, but are both electing to use their extra year of COVID eligibility and return to Nebraska for one final hoorah. The NFL Draft and transfer portal were both on the table for either man, but they elected to come back in the hopes of helping lay down the cement of what many are hoping is a long, successful era of Nebraska football under Matt Rhule.
The announcements cap a wild day in Lincoln — specifically at the quarterback position. Quarterback Jeff Sims, who was the starter a decent amount of Nebraska’s snaps in 2023, officially entered the transfer portal. Ohio State quarterback transfer Kyle McCord is expected to visit the program — and so is 2024 five-star quarterback recruit Dylan Raiola.
It was revealed by the Omaha World Herald that Raiola’s uncle, Nebraska offensive line coach Donovan Raiola, saw his base salary spike over 50 percent from $175,000 up to $500,000 and his contract extended through the end of the 2024 calendar year.
Whether this is intentional on Nebraska’s part isn’t something that will ever be disclosed — but it’s worth noting Raiola is the only holdover from Scott Frost’s staff from the beginning of 2022. Everyone else was either let go or has moved on from the program in some other capacity — but not Raiola.
More on Dylan Raiola, Nebraska
According to On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM), Raiola has been given a 36.1 percent change of flipping from the Bulldogs to the Cornhuskers. He is set to take an official visit to Nebraska this weekend, according to On3’s Hayes Fawcett. The 6-foot-3, 230-pounder has been committed to Georgia since May.
Raiola ranks as the No. 17 player in the On3 Industry Ranking, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services.. He is the No. 3 quarterback and the No. 3 player out of the state of Georgia.
This isn’t the first time that family ties have the potential to play a role in major recruiting battles in recent years. In the college basketball space, former top recruit and eventual No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham played his one and done season at Oklahoma State — where his brother, Cannen, was an assistant coach at the time.