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Nebraska Football's Matt Rhule: Dylan Raiola has Helped Huskers Raise Level of Play

Nebraska football's new quarterback has the head coach confident about the upcoming season and the future of the Huskers.

Kaleb Henry

Dylan Raiola during Nebraska football's 2024 Red-White spring game.
Dylan Raiola during Nebraska football's 2024 Red-White spring game. / Nebraska Athletics
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Nebraska football's likely starting quarterback with some praise from the head coach Monday.

Matt Rhule appeared on "The Joel Klatt Show", talking about a number of topics. Among them was five-star freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola.

"Dylan's talent is only matched by who he is as a person," Rhule said. "His father was a great Husker. Great mom, great sister, great younger brother. His uncle's our offensive line coach."

Rhule noted the impact of Raiola on the recruiting front.

"You know that he came (to Lincoln) because he knew what the program was really like on the inside," Rhule said. "That sends a message to everybody else in recruiting. So now you're attracting players from all across the country that want to come play with him, but at the end of the day, it comes down to the football."

Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule during the second quarter against the Northwestern Wildcats at Memorial Stadium.
Oct 21, 2023; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule during the second quarter against the Northwestern Wildcats at Memorial Stadium. / Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

In the Red-White Spring Game, Raiola went 16-for-22 for 239 yards and two touchdowns in limited action. "The football" with the new QB is good.

"He has a unique feel for the game," Rhule said. "He's really, really smart. You always hear Tom Brady and those guys talk about when your best players work the hardest, you have a great team. Dylan's one of those guys who tries to work the hardest."

Rhule sees Raiola's immediate impact coming from helping the offense throw the ball better and reduce turnovers, something that plagued the Big Red in 2023. He notes that doing so will allow the offense to be more aggressive because they "trust our decision-making".

"He certainly has helped us raise the level of play," Rhule said. "And I think he's going to be a guy that all of college football knows."

Watch the full appearance below.

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Kaleb Henry
KALEB HENRY

Kaleb Henry is an award-winning sports reporter, covering collegiate athletics since 2014 via radio, podcasting, and digital journalism. His experience with Big Ten Conference teams goes back more than a decade, including time covering programs such as the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oregon Ducks, and USC Trojans. He has contributed to Sports Illustrated since 2021. Kaleb has won multiple awards for his sports coverage from the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kaleb was a Division I athlete on the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Track and Field team where he discussed NCAA legislation as SIUE's representative to the Ohio Valley Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. 

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