Dylan Raiola, the Duck; Former Nebraska Quarterback Transfers to Oregon

Dylan Raiola's new home in college football remains in the same conference as his former home.

Raiola, the 6-foot-3, 230-pound former five-star quarterback, has officially committed to the Oregon Ducks. The two-year Nebraska signal-caller visited Oregon on Saturday, Jan. 10, after the Ducks' 56-22 College Football Playoff semifinal loss Friday to Indiana. Raiola will have two years of eligibility remaining plus a potential redshirt season after starting as a true freshman for the Huskers in 2024.

Rumors regarding Raiola's status with Nebraska were swirling before the end of the Huskers' regular season, and by mid-December it was known he was leaving. While Raiola was originally linked to non-Big Ten Conference programs such as Louisville, the incoming junior will remain in the Big Ten, joining coach Dan Lanning's program.

Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola fumbles after picking up a first down against Northwestern. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

“I think all of our fans, all of our staff, we all just have to embrace it,” Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule said about Raiola's decision during the coach's Dec. 17 press conference. “We’re in the portal era. The portal will giveth and the portal will take that away. It’s just the new normal.”

"If he needs a fresh start, I’m going to pray that he finds the right place and that he has so much success," Rhule said. "With that being said, there’s a lot of great QBs out there and a lot of guys want to play at Nebraska.”

The Buford, Ga., recruit won the starting quarterback competition over 2023 starter Heinrich Haarberg and fellow true freshman Daniel Kaelin in 2024 after a prep career that spanned three states and saw him become one of the top prospects in the nation. Raiola started all 13 games as a true freshman at Nebraska, completing 67 percent of passes while throwing for 2,819 yards and 13 scores. His passing yards and completion percentage were the best for a freshman in program history. He led Nebraska to a 7-6 record, including a Pinstripe Bowl victory over Boston College in the program's first postseason appearance since 2016.

A young fan at the 2025-Nebraska-Iowa game holds a sign urging Husker quarterback Dylan Raiola to return next season. | Cory Edmondson, KFGE

As a sophomore, Raiola led Nebraska to a 6-3 record as a starter before suffering a season-ending broken fibula against USC on Nov. 1. He finished his sophomore season completing 181-of-250 passes for 2,000 yards and 18 touchdowns in nine games while ranking fourth nationally in completion percentage (72.4 percent) at the time of his injury. With Raiola out, true freshman TJ Lateef took over at quarterback for the Huskers, who went 1-3 in their final four games.

Raiola is expected to have a few options in Eugene after current starter Dante Moore finished leading the Ducks to a 13-2 season. Moore is a potential top 10 selection in the 2026 NFL Draft, but if he were to return, Raiola could use his redshirt season much like Moore did during his first season in Eugene.

The former UCLA five-star commit was a true freshman starter for the Bruins in 2023 before leaving the program and sitting behind Ducks starter Dillon Gabriel as a redshirt in 2024. Moore's statistics drastically improved after his season as a backup, jumping from a 53.5 percent passer in 2023 for UCLA to nearly 72 percent for the Ducks in 2025. Moore also doubled his passing attempts and yards, and nearly tripled his passing touchdowns from his freshman campaign.

Other quarterback options currently on the Ducks' roster include redshirt sophomore Brock Thomas and redshirt freshman Luke Moga. Thomas is from Eugene and has played in nine career games as a Duck with 16 total passing attempts. Moga was a three-star recruit out of Arizona and saw action in three games this season, going three-of-five passing for 58 yards.

Raiola was offered by Oregon during his high school recruitment, but he originally committed to Big Ten powerhouse Ohio State in May 2022. He decommitted later that year and committed to the Georgia Bulldogs in May 2023. Later that year, shortly before early signing period in December, Raiola surprised nearly everyone by flipping to Nebraska, becoming one of the highest-rated recruits ever to sign with the Huskers and following in the footsteps of his father, Dominic, an All-America center at Nebraska.

QB Dylan Raiola with his uncle Donovan Raiola, offensive line coach, during Nebraska's 2025 game vs. Houston Christian. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

The Raiolas made Nebraska a family affair with Dylan at quarterback, father Dominic as an alum, uncle Donovan as offensive line coach, and brother Dayton as a quarterback committed to the 2026 recruiting class. Dayton, however, decommitted this past November, and Donovan was fired as offensive line coach in early December.

Nebraska is slated to face the Ducks in Eugene during the 2026 season. The dates of Big Ten Conference games have yet to be announced.

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