Nebraska freshman QB Dylan Raiola locked in on 'special' Huskers experience

When quarterback Dylan Raiola flipped his commitment from Georgia to Nebraska, it seemed to mark the start of a new era for Cornhuskers football.

After all, Raiola was the No. 2 quarterback recruit in the 2024 class, per 247Sports, as well as the No. 7 recruit overall. The fact that he chose Nebraska over the championship program Kirby Smart has built at Georgia was a major recruiting milestone for Huskers head coach Matt Rhule. Never mind the fact that Raiola's father, Dominic Raiola, was a two-time All-Big 12 selection who won the Rimington Trophy (given to the nation's best offensive lineman) in 2000 with the Huskers. The younger Raiola was blazing his own trail, and he could have easily stayed with UGA.

He decided on Lincoln, though, and Huskers fans are hopeful that he can be the program's "savior" of sorts, at least at the quarterback position.

So far, it sounds so good — at least in terms of the fit.

“Nebraska is a special place. It’s always been like that,” Raiola told the media on Thursday (h/t On3). “I never take it for granted how good our fans are. I try to be around my guys as much as possible. Take them out to go eat. Play 'Madden.' It’s been good. I love living here. Not a lot of distractions, a lot of ball and being around your guys.”

The recruiting hype as well as the feel-good vibes have to translate onto the field for both Raiola and the Huskers, but it's worth noting that his head coach seems to be instilling a healthy perspective into his young quarterback.

“I told Dylan the moment he got here, ‘Don’t worry about being the five-star quarterback. Don’t worry about being all these things. Expectation weighs us down. Just play ball,'” Rhule said earlier in the spring.

Raiola will get his first shot to play ball (sort of) in a few weeks during Nebraska's annual Red-White spring game on April 27.