Film Review: Nebraska Football Commit Dayton Raiola

Dayton Raiola is the newest Nebraska football recruiting commit and the first of the 2026 cycle. Here is his complete film review.

Dayton Raiola preparing for his Buford High School game / Christian Stahl (@thestahlflix)/Instagram

The Nebraska Cornhuskers landed their first 2026 commit Sunday. That commit is three-star (Rivals) Buford (Ga.) High School quarterback Dayton Raiola. Dayton is the younger brother of current Husker quarterback Dylan Raiola.

HuskerMax caught up with Raiola about his decision. Click HERE if you’d like to see that before looking at the film review.

Following the announcement, I put together a film review on the newest Nebraska commit. Here is the good and some of the things Raiola needs to work on.

Good:

• Throw On The Run: The newest Nebraska commit is very talented when throwing on the run. He usually rolls out to the left, being a left-handed QB, and does a good job throwing to the left side of the field and even across the middle on the run. He is especially great when rolling out on a designed boot off of the play-action fake.

• Arm Angles: He is very similar to his brother in the decision-making. These quick decisions to change his arm angles are impressive as he throws a solid ball from the side arm angle. Not everyone can throw from this arm angle, especially as a secondary angle to throw. He is exceptional at this.

• Decision Making: Just to add to what was said before, he doesn’t seem to make bad reads often. He is able to read across the field instead of having to rely on one read. He and his brother both have done a good job at this even at the high school level. This plays a factor in the arm angles category. Depending on the throw he has a different angle which means he has to have quick decision-making.

• Arm Strength: Raiola’s deep ball isn’t perfect but he has great arm strength. The problem isn’t if he can throw the ball far enough because he can. Raiola already can easily hit a 50-plus yard pass with another year of high school still to go.

Things To Work On:

• Speed/Dual Threat Ability: Raiola can move with his legs, but it’s very limited. Even comparing him to his brother, I would have to give his brother the edge. He isn’t an exceptional athlete when it comes to running but isn’t the most statue-like QB in the pocket. He is better at throwing on the run than pulling the ball and running with it. This is something that can improve over time but not something scouts will drool over.

• Too Much Air Under The Ball: The deep ball is hit or miss with Raiola because at times it almost seems as if the ball is being placed way too high in the air which isn’t always bad but also isn’t always good. This will give the defensive backs who are in the area more of a chance to catch up unless it’s a real deep ball upwards of around 60 yards. This will improve under quarterbacks coach Glenn Thomas at Nebraska.

• Spiral: The ball isn’t always a spiral with Raiola. He still gets the ball there but it seems to be a bit out of rhythm at times. This isn’t always a big concern but it could be a determining factor in some one-on-one scenarios.  

To watch his film yourself, click HERE.

MORE: EXCLUSIVE: 2026 QB Dayton Raiola Discusses Commitment to Nebraska Football

MORE: Bret Bielema: Illinois Football 'Planned to Wear Down' Nebraska

MORE: Another Top-5 Sweep for Nebraska Volleyball; Huskers Dominate Louisville Cardinals

MORE: Nebraska Men's Basketball Lands 2025 4-Star Forward Commitment

MORE: Nebraska Football Falls From Top 25, Continues to Receive Votes in Polls

---

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.