Three Takes on Dylan Raiola’s Departure From the Nebraska Football Team

Things move so fast in college football these days, it’s hard to believe that it’s been less than a week since the news broke that two year starting quarterback Dylan Raiola would be entering the transfer portal. After the decommitment of his younger brother Dayton, and the firing of his uncle (and Nebraska’s previous offensive line coach) Donovan, this probably wasn’t a huge surprise to most Nebraska fans.

The Raiola era coincided with Rhule’s first few years of trying to bring the Nebraska football program back to national prominence. It had a bit of a roller coaster feel, and arguably never reached the heights that some Husker fans hoped for. With that in mind, here are three takes on Dylan Raiola’s departure from the Nebraska football team.

Tip Your Cap. There’s been so much focus on Dylan since he committed to Nebraska as a 5-star high school prospect two years ago, I think it’s safe to say there is a palpable sense of Raiola fatigue among the fan base. What’s more, there seems to be a sense of missed opportunity for many fans. Yes, he led the Huskers to back-to-back bowl games after a nearly decade-long bowlless streak. And yes, he made some incredible plays at times. But at the same time, he was 13-9 as a starter, and many will look back at the 2025 schedule and see a missed opportunity for Nebraska.

All of that is fair. Fans are allowed to feel any kind of way about this situation. But I think it’s important to recognize what Raiola accomplished in his two years as a Husker. I come back to what Mitch Sherman told us when he came on the Common Fan Podcast in November:

Dylan has done a lot for the program that goes beyond just coming and playing quarterback. He did open the door for players to follow him that would not have been Huskers, if not for Raiola. And some of that is from his visibility, because there were players out there in the first year that Dylan was in the program who said, well, if a five-star quarterback who was committed to Georgia and Ohio State before he signed with Nebraska was willing to do this, then I'm on board. That legitimizes Nebraska as a place that other top talent can go. And then once he got to Nebraska and got entrenched, the work that Dylan did to help Nebraska get Nyziah Hunter, Dane Key, and others in the portal last year; Dylan has been the front man for Nebraska from day one. Even when he was a recruit…from the day that he committed and signed with Nebraska, he has been the number one advocate for Matt Rhule and his program on the recruiting trail from a player perspective. So, I think Nebraska fans should have a lot of appreciation and admiration for him doing that.

The World We Live In. I hate to say it, but get used to it, Common Fans. In the transfer portal era, players are going to come and go every year–especially quarterbacks. Multiple playoff teams have transfers as starting QBs. A perfect example is Carson Beck, who started under center for a playoff-bound Georgia team last year, and is Miami’s signal caller in the playoffs this year. It’s the new reality of college football. There is a lot of money to be made, and guys are trying to put themselves in the best position to get to the NFL. Oftentimes, a player entering the transfer portal isn’t even indicative of a bad experience with the team he’s leaving. It’s like Michael Corleone said in The Godfather: “It’s not personal, Sonny. It’s strictly business.”

Moving On. With all due respect to Raiola, it’s time for Husker fans–and the entire program–to move on. This feels like an opportunity for Rhule and offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen to reevaluate what they want to do on offense. In all honesty, the last two years have felt like the Huskers were trying to mold their offense around Raiola’s skill set, but never quite had all the pieces to do so. This is a fresh start to go in whatever direction they want.

If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, Mike Schaefer had an excellent article about the need for Nebraska to decide what they want their identity to be on offense. I am hopeful that the recent additions of offensive line coach Geep Wade (formerly Georgia Tech’s O line coach), and run game coordinator Lonnie Teasley (formerly South Carolina’s offensive line coach) are indications that the Big Red will be moving toward a downhill, run-first approach for their identity on offense. It doesn’t have to be boring; you can still incorporate aspects of a quarterback run game with that kind of offense, and you can still throw it up a bit too. But the Big Ten is a big boy league, and Nebraska needs to start winning the line of scrimmage again. Hopefully they’re on the way to doing just that.

As always, GBR for LIFE.

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