Husker Dan: Will History Repeat With Dylan Raiola?

There’s precedent from a generation ago at Nebraska: A coveted quarterback transferring to the school he originally spurned

Dylan Raiola :: © Joel Angel Juarez/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

If Dylan Raiola plays for Georgia, he'll join a number of other quarterbacks who have turned down a Nebraska offer to play QB elsewhere.

But if things fall in place, he could one day join a very select group in Husker history.

As painful as it is not getting Raiola to come to NU, fans are quick to point out that it ain't over until its over.

They say that with the tranfer portal, anything is possible. Yes, things could sour for Dylan at Geogia. Kirby Smart might decide to seek greener pastures. The door could be open for Raiola to show up at Nebraska. Stranger things have happened. So what if he does come to Nebraska?

More about that later.

Dylan recap

As every Husker fan knows, Raiola (the No. 1 rated college football player in the entire '24 recruiting class) announced last week he intends to play college football for Georgia. He picked the Bulldogs over USC and Nebraska. The news didn't come as a huge surprise to Husker fans because it seemed the wheels were starting to fall off the Scarlet & Cream's wagon as early as March.. Raiola didn't show up at the Husker spring game, and contact with him seemed to have diminished during the last few months.

In the end, the blond bombshell at the end of the bar rode off to Georgia with the good-looking guy who owns a Lamborghini (actually two of them). So the handsome Nebraska man dressed in Levi's, a denim shirt and cowboy boots would have to find someone else. (Maybe getting Bellevue West quarterback Daniel Kaelin will ease Nebraska's pain.)

Who can blame the blond, or in this case, Dylan Raiola? Actually, no one. He made the best choice for him and his career. It makes good sense.

Two of a kind

But if Dylan somehow ended up transferring later to Nebraska, he would be only the second QB in Husker history to do so after spurning a Nebraska offer. That other player is Scott Frost. Yes, that Scott Frost.

Frost originally turned down Tom Osborne's offer in 1993, deciding instead to play for Bill Walsh at Stanford. However, after two years with the Cardinal (and Walsh leaving the program), Frost transferred to his home state, where he ended up leading the Huskers to a national championship in 1997.

Other QBs to turn down Nebraska

If Raiola never comes to Nebraska, he'll join a sizeable group of QBs to turn down NU to play elsewhere. Some of those include Blaine Gabbert, Josh Freeman, Lamar Jackson, Carlyle Holiday, Allan Evridge, Tyler Gabbert and Odell James.

QBs who turned down NU for MLB

Other QBs who were heavily recruited to play for Nebraska and didn't come to Lincoln are Carl Crawford (Houston, TX) and Bubba Starling (Gardner, KS). Crawford signed a letter of intent to play option QB for Frank Solich, but opted to play major league baseball instead.

Starling accepted a scholarship to play football and baseball at Nebraska. However like Crawford, he decided to play MLB. Neither ever played QB anywhere. 

Crawford was a highly recruited option QB in the 1999 class. Many say that had he played for Nebraska, Solich would never have been fired. Crawford would likely have been Eric Crouch's successor.

Starling was selected by the KC Royals in the 2011 MLB draft. Out of high school, he was the sixth-ranked QB in the country. Had he played football for Nebraska, he would have been competing with other QBs such as Taylor Martinez, Ron Kellogg and Tommy Armstrong.

QBs who didn't get NU offers

Others with Nebraska ties who played QB in college and didn't play for the Huskers include Kelly Stouffer (Rushville, NE) and currently, Zane Flores (Gretna, NE). Stouffer, who was primarily a passer, didn't fit into the Huskers' option offense (mid-'80s under Tom Osborne). Stouffer enrolled at Colorado State, was a first-round NFL draft choice and spent six years playing for Seattle, Miami and Carolina. Flores, who didn't get an offer from Scott Frost's staff, is a true freshman at Oklahoma State.

How ’Bout Them Huskers

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