Nebraska's Dylan Raiola Named to Maxwell Award Watch List

The Maxwell Award honors the most outstanding player in college football. Past winners include college football legends such as Tim Tebow, Joe Burrow and Bryce Young. Nebraska has had just one Maxwell winner in its history—running back Mike Rozier in 1983.

Now, Raiola becomes the latest Husker to be considered for the award, and it comes after a season that has many in the program hopeful about what’s next.

Raiola arrived in Lincoln as one of the top quarterback recruits in the country and quickly made his presence felt. He started from day one and helped lead Nebraska to its first bowl appearance since 2016. He finished the season with 2,819 passing yards, a 67.1% completion rate and 13 touchdown passes—setting school freshman records in both yardage and accuracy.

It is clear that Raiola is ready to build something at Nebraska. While some young players look to transfer to wherever is most convenient for them, Raiola is committed to coach Matt Rhule and the Huskers.

While being on the 80-man Maxwell watch list doesn’t guarantee anything—it’s a long season, and the award field is deep—it does underscore the level of national attention Raiola has started to attract. Heading into 2025, he's expected to be one of the Big Ten’s most intriguing quarterbacks.

Nebraska’s expectations will naturally rise with Raiola returning for his sophomore season. There are still questions to answer—how will he handle more complex defenses, can he continue to improve in the red zone, and how much support will he get from the run game and offensive line—but his foundation is strong.

If he takes a step forward, both he and Nebraska could be in for a meaningful season.

The complete watch list is below. Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty was the 2024 winner.

• QB Drew Allar, Penn State
• RB Kaytron Allen, Penn State
• QB Luke Altmyer, Illinois
• QB Jackson Arnold, Auburn
• QB CJ Bailey, NC State
• QB Alonza Barnett III, James Madison
• QB Rocco Becht, Iowa State
• QB Carson Beck, Miami
• QB Braylon Braxton, Southern Miss
• RB Isaac Brown, Louisville
• RB Jalen Buckley, Western Michigan
• QB Tommy Castellanos, Florida State
• RB Demond Claiborne, Wake Forest
• WR Cam Coleman, Auburn
• RB Jonah Coleman, Washington
• QB Devon Dampier, Utah
• QB Kyron Drones, Virginia Tech
• RB Caden Durham, LSU
• RB Dylan Edwards, Kansas State
• QB Noah Fifita, Arizona
• RB Nate Frazier, Georgia
• QB Tucker Gleason, Toledo
• QB Taylen Green, Arkansas
• QB Mark Gronowski, Iowa
• RB Anthony Hankerson, Oregon State
• RB Ahmad Hardy, Missouri
• RB Jamal Haynes, Georgia Tech
• RB Justice Haynes, Michigan
• RB Al-Jay Henderson, Buffalo
• QB Eli Holstein, Pitt
• QB Josh Hoover, TCU
• QB Blake Horvath, Navy
• RB Makhi Hughes, Oregon
• QB Nico Iamaleava, UCLA
• QB Keyone Jenkins, FIU
• QB Kevin Jennings, SMU
• QB Avery Johnson, Kansas State
• QB Haynes King, Georgia Tech
• QB Cade Klubnik, Clemson
• QB DJ Lagway, Florida
• QB Sam Leavitt, Arizona State
• RB Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame
• QB Maddux Madsen, Boise State
• QB Arch Manning, Texas
• QB John Mateer, Oklahoma
• QB Owen McCown, UTSA
• QB Maverick McIvor, WKU
• QB Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
• QB Darian Mensah, Duke
• QB Chandler Morris, Virginia
• QB Behren Morton, Texas Tech
• RB Le’Veon Moss, Texas A&M
• QB Miller Moss, Louisville
• QB Maalik Murphy, Oregon State
• QB Parker Navarro, Ohio
• RB Jaden Nixon, UCF
• QB Garrett Nussmeier, LSU
• RB Jaydn Ott, Oklahoma
• QB Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt
• QB Dylan Raiola, Nebraska
• QB Marcel Reed, Texas A&M
• RB Desmond Reid, Pitt
• QB Sawyer Robertson, Baylor
• WR Corey Rucker, Arkansas State
• WR Elijah Sarratt, Indiana
• QB LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina
• RB Nicholas Singleton, Penn State
• WR Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State
• QB Brendan Sorsby, Cincinnati
• RB Terion Stewart, Virginia Tech
• RB Darius Taylor, Minnesota
• RB Jai’Den Thomas, UNLV
• WR Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State
• QB Caden Veltkamp, Florida Atlantic
• RB Bryson Washington, Baylor
• RB Jahiem White, West Virginia
• WR Antonio Williams, Clemson
• WR Ryan Williams, Alabama
• QB Demond Williams Jr., Washington
• RB Quintrevion Wisner, Texas