Starting as freshman 'very doable' for Nebraska 5-star QB signee Dylan Raiola
Eyes will remain on the quarterback room at Nebraska from now until the Cornhuskers take the field at Memorial Stadium on Aug. 31 against UTEP to kick off the 2024 regular season.
It was a wild finish to the 2024 recruiting cycle for Matt Rhule and Co. In December, buzz quickly began picking up surrounding Huskers legacy prospect and five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola — who at the time was committed to Georgia.
Around a week later on Dec. 18, the elite signal-caller flipped his pledge to the Huskers and proceeded to sign with the Big Ten program just a couple of days after. Landing a five-star gunslinger is music to the ears of Nebraska fans, but is it realistic to expect the 6-foot-2.5, 230-pounder to make an immediate impact in Lincoln?
According to Nebraska insider Sean Callahan, the answer is a resounding yes. The No. 3 QB in the 2024 cycle certainly has a path to the driver’s seat as a freshman.
“I think if there were Vegas odds put out, he’d be the overwhelming favorite to be the guy,” Callahan told On3’s Josh Newberg and J.D. PicKell on Wednesday.
The Huskers are yearning for their next great QB to take the field in red and white. Many believe that Raiola is capable of quenching that thirst. On3’s Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power recently listed him as a ‘2024 signee primed to make an instant impact.’
“In addition to being Nebraska’s clear quarterback of the future, Raiola may indeed be the Huskers’ quarterback of the present next fall,” Power wrote. “Raiola’s size, arm talent and ability to quickly pick up offensive schemes would put him in a position to compete for playing time regardless of the situation.”
Competition for the starting job at Nebraska in 2024
This won’t be a gig handed to Raiola just because he made the move and flipped to the Huskers in the late stages of his recruitment, however. Rhule made that point clear when speaking with reporters at Nebraska’s National Signing Day press conference on Wednesday.
“None of those guys in the locker room care about how highly ranked you were in recruiting, and they certainly don’t care about how many touchdowns you threw in high school,” Rhule said. “They don’t care about how you played last year. They care about what you’re doing right now. They’re very much in the moment.”
Heinrich Haarberg is back for Nebraska after making eight starts and playing in 10 games a season ago. He threw for 967 yards and seven touchdowns while also hurling seven interceptions. The Huskers also brought in Bellevue (Neb.) three-star QB Daniel Kaelin in the 2024 class.
“Daniel Kaelin is here as an Elite 11 freshman as well, but obviously Raiola possesses better physical tools right now with where he’s at. Then Heinrich Haarberg does return, who started eight games last year — he won five games … so (Raiola) will have to beat out a guy like Haarberg, but I think that’s very doable at this point,” Callahan said.
“They struggled because they didn’t have the quarterback play they needed to win down the stretch in the big games in this league.”
The pressure will be on Raiola to live up to expectations and impress in the lead-up to the 2024 season. Nebraska is looking for its first winning season since 2016 — and many hope the legacy recruit is the man to lead the program over that hurdle.