Nebraska's Matt Rhule makes bold claim about Dylan Raiola's leadership status

Matt Rhule knows what he has in quarterback Dylan Raiola heading into the quarterback's second season at the helm of Nebraska's offense. 

Rhule had high praise for Raiola at Big Ten media days, where the QB was one of the players Nebraska brought to represent its program.

“I would not have brought Dylan if I wasn’t so proud of his work,” Rhule told the media (h/t On3). “He’s done a great job with his body. He’s done a great job with his knowledge of the offense, his growth with Glenn Thomas, our quarterback coach, and Dana Holgorsen, our OC."

Rhule seems to believe there will be a significant jump in play for Raiola between his freshman season and his upcoming sophomore year. Some of it is the fact that Raiola is no longer a freshman at Nebraska, which means he'll naturally be seen as more of a leader in the locker room.

“Make no mistake, it’s really hard to come in as a freshman with tremendous expectations, and have to go be the leader. You’re 18 years old telling six-year seniors now. By the new rules, you’re telling 25-, 24-year-old men, ‘Hey, I need you to do this.’ It’s so hard. So what Dylan did last year was really hard," Rhule said.

There's, of course, the on-field expectations as well. Raiola threw for 2,819 yards and 13 touchdowns last season, but he also threw 11 interceptions. Although he struggled with turnovers, he displayed a base of being a skilled college quarterback.

Now he must take that next step and prove that he can be counted among the best quarterbacks in the nation. In the meantime, though, Rhule believes his team will be able to rally around the former five-star quarterback.

The reason why? Raiola could have gone anywhere, but he decided to come to Nebraska to help Rhule turn the once-dominant program around.

“I said, ‘Come to Nebraska, but it’s going to be hard. There’ll be adversity. You’ll be frustrated sometimes, but we will eventually do something great.’" Rhule recalled. "And what I’ve seen from him, his maturity, he now embraces when he’s frustrated. He embraces when things aren’t going well, and he’s the one going back to the ownership… He puts it on himself. He says, ‘I’ll fix this.’ I think our team’s going to play for Dylan.”

A team that plays for its quarterback can be a tough one to beat, so keep an eye out for Nebraska in 2025.