Tad Stryker: A Tale of Two Five-Stars

Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola and Tennessee’s Nico Iamaleava illustrate the bright and seedy sides of college football’s NIL age

Quarterback Nico Iamaleava throws during Tennessee's first-round playoff game against Ohio State on Dec. 22, 2024. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times (in the Big Ten and the SEC, anyhow).

It was the age of equity, it was the age of fiscal irresponsibility, it was the season of Big Money, it was the season of Broken Promises, it was the epoch of opportunity, it was the epoch of deception, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of the transfer portal, it was the winter of the roster cutdown. We had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to the College Football Playoff, we were all going direct to the bottom of the standings.

There was an inventory-grasping TV executive and a judge whose decree ended the amateur era on the throne of major college football, while on the opposing side there was a curmudgeonly commentator and an amiable active coach who still believed in player development, warning that the misuse of NIL could blow up in our faces. In the midst of all the uproar, fans nationwide held out hope that a deeply divided Congress might somehow unite to craft a piece of legislation that would help make sense of a sport that continues to fascinate us all.

With apologies to Charles Dickens, it was the year of Our Lord two thousand and twenty-five, and the circumstances surrounding a pair of highly recruited five-star quarterbacks offer a look at both the bright and seedy sides of the loosely regulated NIL business, which some consider a promised land, and others, a purgatory of sorts.

Dylan Raiola during an April 2025 practice. / Nebraska Athletics

In the SEC, Tennessee’s Nico Iamaleava and in the Big Ten, Dylan Raiola of Nebraska — both of Polynesian descent — started as freshmen last fall. Surrounded by superior athletes, Iamaleava had a better 2024 season than did Raiola, amassing 2,974 yards of total offense (228.8 per game), 7.83 yards per pass attempt with 19 touchdown passes and five interceptions thrown for a playoff-qualifying team, compared to Raiola’s 2,754 yards (211.8 per game), 6.88 yards per pass attempt and 13 TD passes and 11 interceptions for a team that finished just above .500. Iamaleava’s ESPN quarterback rating was 70.5 (35th in the nation), while Raiola’s was 62.5 (59th overall). Iamaleava completed 63.8 percent of his passes compared to Raiola’s 67.1 percent.

When you look at preseason Top 10 quarterback lists for 2025, it’s apparent that Raiola is not much of a story right now, at least not in the eyes of national college football writers and broadcasters. That’s just fine with me, and I suspect, with most of Husker Nation. Raiola will have to earn his way up the ladder by making big plays in big moments.

Iamaleava? Yep, he’s a story, all right, but for all the wrong reasons.

Quarterback Nico Iamaleava during Tennessee's 2024 game against Chattanooga. / Brianna Paciorka / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

He saw limited playing time as a true freshman but burst onto the scene by throwing for one touchdown and running for three more in the 2024 Citrus Bowl, where he was voted MVP as the Volunteers smashed Iowa 35-0 with a powerful running attack. Meanwhile, the 5-7 Cornhuskers were sitting out their seventh consecutive bowl, having lost their regular-season finale to Iowa on the final play of the game.

In his redshirt freshman season, Iamaleava led the Vols to a 10-3 record, including wins over three rated teams. While never piling up eye-popping numbers, he typically avoided critical mistakes while his team averaged 225 yards per game rushing. He threw a go-ahead touchdown pass in the fourth quarter as UT edged No. 7 Alabama 24-17, but he was held in check by eventual national champion Ohio State, who pounded the Volunteers 42-17 in the first round of the playoffs. Both quarterbacks played games in Columbus last season with Raiola finding more success against the Buckeyes in a narrow 21-17 defeat last October.

Through his redshirt freshman year, Iamaleava had been paid $2.4 million in NIL funds, according to an April 12 ESPN.com story, which said he started receiving payments while still in high school, and the total value of the contract would have been close to $10 million over the life of the deal. Raiola is likely the highest-paid NIL recipient on the Husker roster, but it’s doubtful he’s made anywhere near that much.

Iamaleava seemed to be gaining momentum, with a bright future at UT, but someone apparently convinced him it wasn’t going to be bright enough. He and his representatives, who include his father in California, started shopping around his services, tried to renegotiate their deal with UT and ultimately, Iamaleava refused to attend a scheduled April 11 practice. UT refused to renegotiate, and lost its quarterback, who planned to enter the transfer portal on April 16.

Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola looks to hand off during the Huskers' 2024 game at Ohio State. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

This is turning into a classic cautionary tale for young, talented athletes who listen to questionable advice from people who have a financial stake in their career. Although Raiola has earned less money up front, I think he has a better future.

Meanwhile, Raiola shrugged off inquiries from other schools. His offseason has been noteworthy for his battle to get into better physical shape, and for the number of appearances he’s made at Husker sporting events, running the gamut from wrestling meets to baseball and basketball games, including the recent College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas. He and running back Emmett Johnson were regular faces at the Nebraska High School State Basketball Tournament. He’s spent considerable time in the past few months working out with and talking up his teammates, including wide receivers who he compared to Lamborghinis. Whether those words are prophetic or just overembellishment, we’ll soon find out, but it’s obvious that Raiola is very concerned about representing a state and leading a team that didn’t support him on the field half as well as Tennessee did Iamaleava, who has quickly attained despised prima donna status in the Volunteer State.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see him resurface for another Power 4 school, quite possibly on the West Coast, where he just might be able to rehabilitate his reputation.

Meanwhile, reputation and character are not things Raiola has to worry about right now. I really wonder what Iamaleava’s former teammates thought of him throughout last season, and during their recently completed spring workouts. I don’t have to do that about Raiola.

Who would you prefer to be the face of your program? Husker fans should be thankful indeed that Raiola is on their side.

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