What Happened To Dylan Raiola's Deep Ball?

I mean, hell, you think a freaking Chubba Purdy against Wisconsin [in 2023]. I bet he had three passes in that game longer than any pass Dylan had outside of the Hail Mary this year. To [Jaylen] Lloyd and to Malachi [Coleman] and who else was a wide receiver? I can't even remember who else it would have been. Guys who don't have college teams now. Wide receivers who don't have college teams now.

I can't believe this hasn't been more of a conversation because I've like thought about this so much.

Josh: I do think we talked about it all the time and the way that we always refer to it as was, “the offense always looks weird” and “every passing play looks weird” and “it never looks like a normal passing game.” You know, I feel like you and I hit on it a ton this season, but maybe we should have hit on it some more.

Jack: I know, my point is they just never ever have. They didn't exist. And there were a couple of attempts, but there weren't even that many attempts. Like you're right. There were a few moments. Jaylen Lloyd, 73-yard long. Marcus Washington, 56-yard long. Malachi Coleman, 44-yard long [in 2023].

Josh: That's not even that long, right? You need bigger plays than that. And Nebraska does not have a big offense. One of those was what, 44?

Jack: That was Malachi’s long [catch] and that was that touchdown against Northwestern. Washington had a 56-yarder and then [Billy] Kemp and [Alex] Bullock each had 34. Bullock’s probably was the Jeff Sims Minnesota play, right?

Josh: It probably was. Yeah, because that was the spot on the field that they were at.

Jack: And then if you go to last year, [Isaiah] Neyor had a 59-yarder. Lloyd at a 59-yarder last year. [Jacory] Barney had a 40-yarder last year. [Thomas] Fidone had a 33-yarder. But again, I don't know how much those were run [after the catch]. [Jahmal] Banks long was a 31 last year.

Josh: That’s terrible.

Jack: Heinrich Haarberg had a more prolific deep passing career than Dylan Raiola did at Nebraska.

Josh: That is so depressing. How is that possible, man? Jack, two years ago, when he committed…

Jack: When I watched his film, what was the sexy part of it? Those freaking deep passes in high school. Those deep, low effort [passes]. And it was just smooth. And [he] would just nail these guys in stride. I don't know if we ever even saw it once!

Josh: No, there was never one. There has not been one deep pass, air yard, up top.

You know what, Jack, actually, I'll give you one; the Isaiah Neyor touchdown against UTEP in his first game. Remember that play?

Jack: He had a good pass to Banks in that game too. 

Josh: And it was like, “whoa, this is amazing!” And then you never saw it again. Then you never saw it again. If you add a list of Dylan's like ten most impressive passes, how many of them happened in like the first month of his career? Like half of them? A couple of them in that game. I remember in the Illinois game; he had a couple of great passes.

Jack: The Neyor pass right before halftime.

Josh: Against Illinois. Incredible touchdown. Ridiculous.

Jack: Like, his first five games, he lived up to the billing completely. He was throwing it deep. He was taking huge chances.

Whose fault is it? Is it him? Is it the play calling; two different offensive coordinators? Is it the receivers? What is it? Because it's not complicated to figure out why this offense is completely stunted. They have no normal passing game.

Josh: [A subscriber] literally just posted that touchdown we were talking about against UTEP to Isaiah Neyor in the channel. Go watch it. It is unbelievable because of how great it looks and how we never saw it again. I mean, he's got pressure first of all on his face. He throws it, he gets hit. It is on the money. I mean, just absolutely perfect.

Jack: I thought we were getting that every GD week. We never saw it again. We basically never saw that Dylan Raiola again. Whose fault is that?

Josh: And it's not even, “oh, the competition was better” [after UTEP]. There's something different about that throw – and whether or not the level of competition is good or bad – he hits the receiver in stride. That's the important part. And he was never able to do that again on deep passes. Again, most of last year he was under throwing them. And at least it drew pass interference penalties at times. This year he was chucking it long.

Jack: He had pressure on that! As expected, Turner Corcoran or somebody let the dude through on that play. Something is systemically wrong with this passing game. And I don't know whose fault it is but it is so stunted to the point we got so used to it after that [play against UTEP] Josh, that we were watching that highlight and don't even realize that that's possible anymore.

Josh: Yeah, I know. It looks like a different player.

Jack: Watch the first half of the Illinois game. I'm telling myself, if you watch the first half of that Illinois game. I tweeted a halftime this Illinois of that Illinois game. I was like, “I don't know what's going to happen with this, but the way Dylan Raiola passes, Nebraska will never be out of any game.”

Josh: Yeah. And then it's and that was like the beginning of the end. That game was the beginning of the end. And I mean, [a subscriber] hits on it; “I think a lot of it is lack of confidence.” I mean, Jack, did he develop some weird version of the yips?

Jack: Well then, we're not the problem. If he if he's going to transfer, that's going to go with him, you know.

Josh: Oh, yeah. 100%.

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