Kirk Herbstreit Explains His Side of Dylan Raiola Controversy Amid Fan Backlash

Some Georgia Bulldogs football fans took issue with what Dominic Raiola shared from conversation he had with the ESPN analyst before his son flipped to the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

One of the most consequential recruiting coups of the 2024 cycle took place in December, when five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola flipped his commitment from Georgia to Nebraska. Comments made by Raiola’s father, former Cornhuskers and Detroit Lions standout offensive lineman Dominic Raiola, about the decision made waves during National Signing Day on Wednesday. 

During an interview with Rivals, the former Nebraska All-American said he spoke to Kirk Herbstreit while his son was mulling his options, and the ESPN analyst was very supportive of Dylan’s move to join Matt Rhule in rebuilding the Huskers program.

“When this was happening, I will bring up one guy’s name: Kirk Herbstreit. He saw the smoke about Dylan entertaining Nebraska, he was like … ‘Is this true? He gotta do it,’” Raiola said.

ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit advised Nebraska great Dominic Raiola before son Dylan Raiola, a five-star quarterback, flipped from Georgia to the Cornhuskers :: Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports

Unsurprisingly, Georgia fans have not taken kindly to the news, with some accusing Herbstreit of trying to influence a major quarterback’s recruitment. Herbstreit has not yet publicly addressed the issue, but On3‘s Andy Staples says he spoke with the ESPN analyst, who provided more context about the conversation he had with Dominic Raiola.

“I said Kirk, what is your side of the story on this?” Staples said on his YouTube show, Andy Staples On3. “And we talked about it, and he explained that he has a relationship with Dominic Raiola. They know each other. They’ve talked plenty of times before and that they were having a conversation about Dylan’s recruitment. Now, Kirk is quick to point out that he is not someone who follows a lot of the day-to-day of recruiting. So the part I’m not so sure is quite accurate from Dom’s retelling of the story is the, Kirk finds out that Dylan is considering the flip and asked Dom to call right out of the blue to say, ‘Go to Nebraska.’ That’s not how it happened, according to Kirk.

“Basically they were talking, kind of father to father—Kirk’s had a few sons play college football, as well. … And they’re talking about the whole process. And basically, according to Kirk, Dom was asking, ‘Hey, how much should I talk about the possibility of if you go to Nebraska, you could be a program changer, you could be a difference maker, you could be a legend if you wind up helping bring this program back to where it wants to be?’ And Kirk—who was complimentary of Matt Rhule, the Nebraska coach, and [Georgia coach] Kirby Smart in this whole situation—says, ‘Well, yeah, that would be cool. Like, it would be cool if he could do that.’ And that’s pretty much where it was, which is not the same thing as, ‘Go to Nebraska.’”

It should be noted that Herbstreit only spoke to Dominic, and did not speak directly to Dylan Raiola about his decision. Dominic also mentioned multiple times in the Rivals interview that the decision to pursue Nebraska after committing to Georgia was ultimately his son’s, though he’s clearly happy with how things turned out.