Matt Rhule’s first year with the Nebraska football program was not successful, to say the least. The Cornhuskers only notched three wins in the Big Ten Conference and had five entries in the win column throughout 12 games. Obviously, the squad plans to change that this season as the program is slowly forming its identity. They are starting the path to contention well by fixing their quarterback conundrum. Signal callers like Jeff Sims, Chubba Purdy, and Heinrich Haarberg were not quite netting wins for the squad. But, that might change with Dylan Raiola.
The Nebraska air attack was not feared in the Big Ten Conference last season. Their quarterbacks just were not producing high enough numbers and marching through to field. To put it into perspective, Jeff Sims, Chubba Purdy, and Heinrich Haarberg collectively threw for 10 touchdowns. What’s the problem there, you ask? Well, it’s the fact that they also gave up 16 interceptions.
Now, Dylan Raiola is not the panacea to Matt Rhule’s problems. However, the Nebraska football head honcho does look impressed with his new signal caller, via Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.
“A lot of guys with that type of arm talent, they can’t handle getting hit. Whereas, what I like about him is he has pressure all around him and he still has the courage and the feel to move within the pocket, to create enough space to be able to make that throw down the field. I don’t know if you can coach that,” Rhule said about Raiola.
Nebraska’s new QB
Aside from his insane acumen as a quarterback, what else can the new Nebraska star offer? A better air attack for the Cornhuskers can be expected because of Raiola. The 2024 recruit recorded an insane stat line of 3,341 passing yards alongside 32 touchdowns in just 12 games for Burleson High. A year prior, he also had a 2,435-passing-yard season which was all possible because of his highly efficient 64% completion rate. Not to mention, he was also able to lead his team with passes to the end zone 22 times.
Everyone in the Nebraska football squad seems to be in awe of his gifts on the gridiron. Even Jahmal Banks was deeply impressed with him during their spring training run.
“His reputation precedes him. What you hear about him, in terms of his work ethic, how talented he is, how driven he is, and his purpose, is all true. He puts in the work every day, he wants to be better and it shows,” the Cornhuskers’ weapon declared.
Obviously, his game is still not perfect but the Nebraska football squad will be the perfect place to grow. They are likely to give him a lot of opportunities which might even make him an elite NFL signal caller after his college career.
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