Former NFL Running Back Leonard Fournette Shares Praise for Nebraska Quarterback Dylan Raiola

Fournette likely knows that a good quarterback looks like, having shared three seasons in the NFL with the Buccaneers and Brady, spending his first three years in the league with the Jacksonville Jaguars with first-round quarterback Blake Bortles, and finished his last season in 2023 with the Buffalo Bills and quarterback Josh Allen. In Fournette's seven-years, the back ended with 4,518 rushing yards with 34 rushing touchdowns.

The LSU running back also understands the enormous pressure of being a highly-touted recruit, as Fournette was regarded as the best running back in his class and was one of the most highly recruited players ever to come out of the state of Louisiana. ESPN and Scout.com rated Fournette as the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2014, similar to Dylan Raiola's top-rated prospect for the 2024 class. Raiola was rated among the top ten overall recruits nationally, and was tabbed as the No. 2 recruit overall by Rivals.

Fournette himself was a top-10 NFL draft pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, being picked by the Jaguars fourth overall. The running back joins a long-list of NFL talent that recognize Raiola's professional football potential, as Kansas City Chiefs' quarterback Patrick Mahomes has shared his thoughts on the Huskers' quarterback throughout his freshman campaign. The three-time Super Bowl champion signal caller highlighted one of Raiola's first moments as a Cornhusker, reposting Raiola's touchdown pass in the season-opener against UTEP.

Raiola has received praise and criticism even before his freshman season began, but garnered attention from Pat McAfee, Nick Saban, Rich Eisen, and others throughout the year. The freshman aided Nebraska to their first bowl game berth since 2016, leading the Huskers to a 6-6 campaign.

The five-star recruit finished his regular season starting every game for the Big Red, completing 66 percent of his passes going 253-380 overall, throwing for 2,595 passing yards and 12 touchdowns. Raiola finished second among all freshman FBS quarterbacks in completion percentage and passing yards, while ending ninth in touchdown passes. His regular season ended 10th for Nebraska's single-season passing records, only 22 yards shy of the Husker freshman passing record.

Raiola was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week following the Huskers' season-opening victory over UTEP. Raiola finished his first game in Lincoln going 19-of-27 passing with 238 yards and two scores while only playing in three quarters. He became only the second true freshman quarterback to start a Nebraska season-opener since World War II.

Despite rumors of a potential change of scenery for the freshman through the transfer portal, Raiola posted to his social media earlier this off-season stating he was "All in!" earlier in the month.

Raiola will look to improve upon his first season with the Cornhuskers after the recent additions from the 2025 recruitment class and the recent receiver transfers that have been added by coach Matt Rhule and newly minted offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen.

The Huskers begin their trek to 2025 with their Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl appearance on Saturday from New York City.

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