After a jaw-dropping freshman campaign, Dylan Raiola is poised to become a college football star this fall. After Nebraska’s scrimmage on Saturday, head coach Matt Rhule raved about his sophomore QB’s performance.
“I thought Dylan was excellent,” Rhule said. “It’s scrimmage one, so we’ll have to continue to grow. But, I thought Dylan was excellent in the situations. He’s been really good all camp.”
Raiola completed 67.1% of his pass attempts for 2,819 yards and 13 touchdowns last season while throwing 11 interceptions. Raiola had the most passing yards and best completion percentage of all true freshmen in the country.
While Raiola’s touchdown-to-turnover ratio could’ve been better, his powerful arm and high football IQ left fans excited for the future. Moreover, Raiola worked on improving his body this offseason to allow him to be a more significant rushing threat.
Raiola not only strived to improve his physical attributes this summer, but his mental game as well. On Saturday, Rhule discussed how Nebraska defensive coordinator John Butler has helped Raiola learn to read opposing defenses.
“Dylan does non-physical things that are really high level, makes checks, reads the defense,” Rhule said. “He’s lucky he has John Butler, who walks him through, ‘Hey, this what we’re doing.’ They have a great relationship. John Butler’s one of the smartest people I’ve ever been around in my life. He’s brilliant.
“… Dylan is sprinting and leading the way and the other guys are having to catch up. If they didn’t see Dylan doing that, we would probably be much more remedial. But they see Dylan doing it, so as a result, they all want to do it.”
Raiola will have two new targets out wide in the 2025 campaign. This offseason, Nebraska reeled in commitments from transfer wide receivers Dane Key and Nyziah Hunter. Both Key and Hunter were top 50 wide receivers in the portal, according to On3’s 2025 Transfer Portal Player Rankings.
Of course, Raiola’s individual statistics won’t amount to much if Nebraska isn’t tallying wins. The Cornhuskers finished last season with a 7-6 overall record and a 3-6 mark in conference play.
Now entering Rhule’s third season at the helm, Nebraska will look to reach new heights. Rhule believes Dylan Raiola is ready for the challenge.
“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,” Rhule said at Big Ten Media Days. “He puts it on himself. He says, ‘I’ll fix this.’ I think our team’s going to play for Dylan.”
