Nebraska should roll with Dylan Raiola, but Matt Rhule is remaining cautious

It would make sense for Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule to go all-in on the Dylan Raiola era in Lincoln.

After all, the only other two quarterbacks in the race are freshman Daniel Kaelin (a former three-star recruit) and Heinrich Haarberg, a redshirt junior with a 5-3 record as a starter who battled to play in 10 games last season due to injury.

Rolling with Raiola, a former five-star quarterback ranked as the No. 2 overall quarterback in the 2024 recruiting class by 247Sports, would be a great way for Rhule to create a ton of hype around the program and get fans invested in 2024 right away.

There's also the fact that he's likely the most talented quarterback in the room, even as a true freshman. Raiola threw for 2,819 yards and 34 touchdowns with just one interception as a senior in high school. He also rushed for three touchdowns and had five games that saw him throw for four touchdowns each.

So yes, Raiola makes the most sense, but Rhule — a veteran coach who knows how to build a program from the ground up — has been hesitant to go all-in on the freshman.

From his perspective, he's trying to see what Nebraska has in the quarterback room.

“You know, you have two guys who literally when they show up to campus this fall are beginning their freshman year of college football, so let’s say that they’re the starter before that even starts, that doesn’t make sense to me," Rhule recently said on ESPN (h/t On3).

He's also smartly trying to create some competition, which would elevate everyone in the room, including Raiola.

“You’re fighting for your job,” Rhule explained. “And so to me that back and forth gives me training camp for that as we get to that first ball game. I think whoever goes on the field will be way more prepared because there’s no days off right now. If you have a bad day, someone’s gonna jump at you. They’re all three lead competitors.”

When all is said and done, Raiola will likely win this thing, and he should. Rhule is going to make him work for it, though.