Dylan Raiola was one of the best prospects in his class and was coming off throwing for 2,666 yards for 34 TDs in his senior season. A native of Buford High School, Georgia, Raiola initially committed to the Georgia Bulldogs in May 2023. However, around 6 months later, Matt Rhule came calling, and Raiola flipped his commitment to Nebraska. The words that Dylan Raiola echoed that time might still be in UGA fans’ minds. “I firmly believe that Nebraska is in my blood… It’s a great opportunity to be part of something bigger than myself. It’s a great opportunity to be part of something bigger than myself. Nebraska is a special place,” said Dylan as he looked to follow his father, who also donned scarlet and cream and won All-American honors at Nebraska.

However, now that Dylan has spent one season at the Cornhuskers, bolstering Matt Rhule’s offense and producing 2,819 yards. Dylan is now focused on converting commits, just as he did in the past. In 2024, Nebraska, following Dylan Raiola’s commitment, finished with a 24th-ranked class nationally. They followed the recruitment exploits in 2025, too, finishing 21st nationally. Their 2026 class right now looks weaker. Especially when you compare it to Matt Rhule’s past exploits. It is currently ranked 73rd nationally with just 6 commits. But Dylan Raiola, like a true cornhusker, has taken the mantle in his hands to change that.

Black Swan Management Group, which handles the recruitment of Javieon Cooper, the 4-star Syracuse OT commit, posted an interesting video of Dylan Raiola on their IG page. In the video, Cooper can be seen in a meeting with his family, and guess what? It is Cooper’s birthday. So what Dylan Raiola did will probably convince any recruit to come to Nebraska in admiration of him.

The QB donned the role of a polite server, in a black and white dress, as he can be seen singing, “happy birthday to you” to the Syracuse commit while carrying a cake for the guy. That’s the gold standard of loyalty a program desires, and Dylan Raiola is doing just that by repaying the program. Last year was just the start for the guy, and most probably, he will keep up the good work and finally take Nebraska to a 10-win season. But then the question is, will he have enough offensive pieces around him to succeed?

Dylan Raiola faces a harsh take from a former Huskers legend

Last year, the freshman quarterback had some remarkable moments that demonstrated he is the future of the program. In his debut game against UTEP, he completed 19 out of 27 passes and earned the Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors. During the first three games of the 2024 season, he achieved a passing efficiency of 70%. Although his performance declined in the later games, it was still impressive for a freshman. Given this, we can expect that Raiola’s performance will improve in the future, right?

“Brand new coaches, obviously, a new wide receiver coach, Holgorsen’s a relatively new coach. I think it’s very challenging, and part of the reason it’s challenging is that you have guys build chemistry. It’s really tough with the transfer portal now because I’m looking at the wide receivers. It’s a lot of young guys or guys who have transferred in. So it’s very difficult for those guys to get in, learn a system, and build that rapport,” former Huskers WR Jordan Westerkamp declared about Raiola and dampened those upgrade talks. So, there would be concerns about Raiola’s support weapons.

Matt Rhule lost 33 players this season to the transfer portal. This also included some of the key players in his system. So, right now, that leaves him with inexperienced players or transfer players who might not be too gelled in with the offense. This is a major issue for the Cornhuskers, and this is something that can come to haunt Dylan Raiola despite him being prepared.