What Kind Of Quarterback Can Nebraska Get To Replace Dylan Raiola?

As has been expected by some, Dylan Raiola is entering the transfer portal when it opens in January. On this week's bonus episode of I-80 LIVE, Josh Peterson and Jack Mitchell discussed what kind of quarterback Nebraska could expect to land and tried to answer multiple questions:

Will the Huskers go after a big name?
Can they land a big name?
Do you trust Nebraska's coaching staff to identify the right QB for the 2026 season?

Below is a lightly edited excerpt of their conversation.

Jack: I know nobody likes quarterback depth as much as I do, but… none of the top five guys are gonna consider coming here. [DJ] Lagway, [Brendan] Sorsby.

Josh: I'd say this, Jack; I don't think Nebraska's gonna fish in those waters because I don't think they wanna spend all their money on a quarterback.

Jack: Also that, for a million reasons. You have got to find, and it's a fair question, after what happened with Jeff Sims, after what's happened with other guys, that they have a great evaluation. Hopefully Dana [Holgorsen] can help on this. You got to find a guy who's not [ranked] number four or number seven transfer quarterback. We're talking about more like a number 27 or 37 transfer quarterback, who might be a diamond in the rough. And then let him go against [TJ Lateef] and then have a backup. Both of them are there.

But to me, that's it. Because those guys are out there without a doubt. They're out there. When Cam Ward first went to Washington State, for instance, there's tons of these guys.

Quarterback TJ Lateef throws a pass while left tackle Elijah Pritchett blocks during Nebraska's 2025 game against Iowa. — Bring in legitimate competition for TJ Lateef at QB, say Jack Mitchell and Josh Peterson. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Josh: There are. So why can’t Nebraska finally get one?

Jack: [Kurtis] Rourke from Ohio to Indiana.

Josh: Bingo.

Jack: I listed them over and over again.

Josh: The quarterback that I brought up a million times is [Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele] from Cal. They're not going to get him. He's going to cost too much money. Or, actually, better yet, Tosh Lupoi being the new head coach, I think that they're going to be able to keep him at Cal. Like, I don't think that Nebraska is going to fish in those waters. I don't think that they're going to hang out in the Brendan Sorsby waters, or any of those. Lagway. Sam Leavitt.

[Mike’l] Severe said something, and maybe he was joking, but he said $8 million, which is like “what the hell are we talking about?” What the hell?

Jack: By the way, you know when you need to get Sam Leavitt when he transferred from Michigan State. He wasn't a top 30 guy then.

Josh: They probably could have got him.

Could Nebraska lan Sam Leavitt at QB? Like many proven starters, he'll probably be pricey. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Jack: That's the guy that you need to get. Every year, there are multiple quarterbacks in the [transfer portal]. Because there's 100 quarterbacks in the transfer portal, first of all, which seems insane, but there are. But there are multiple good ones. There are multiple good ones outside of the top ten. Every year it's been the case.

So you gotta find them, right? You gotta figure out who they are. And they're one of two genres. One of the genres is they played a lot at a lower level and they wanna move up; see Cam Ward on his first transfer. See that Rourke guy, right? Or the other one is you've been sitting behind someone and you wanna get your chance. That would be [Luke] Altmeyer, you know, like for instance, for Illinois. He wasn't going to play at Mississippi. That would be an example of that.

So, I think they're out there and yeah, if you think that's what's going to happen, that's awesome, because that's what I want to happen. I really want there to be a competition in the spring. I didn't know if you could have competitions anymore for the quarterback position in 2025. Does that happen? I guess if it does, that's awesome. And then have someone be the backup, who’s gonna end up playing at some point anyway?

Josh: So basically, you don't think that they could bring in a quarterback and keep Lateef?

Jack: That's what I'm worried about. Yes.

Josh: But you're struggling to see it.

Jack: I'm skeptical. Yes, I am skeptical that they can walk that line. Yeah, I'm skeptical they can walk that line and do both, and get someone who's high enough up that they could potentially be a good lower-rated quarterback. Not [ranked] number 99, who's never played, but number 29 maybe. And then keep Lateef here and try to have both of them compete. That would be great.

Nebraska offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen looks on from the sideline against Michigan. — Dana Holgorsen should be able to help Nebraska identify better quarterbacks than they have thus far in Matt Rhule's tenure. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Josh: [A subscriber] says, “anyone see Zane Flores coming in to add depth?”

Jack: That would be fine. He's not that guy.

Josh: Jack, you know what's exciting? It does seem like you and I are on the same wavelength in what kind of quarterback we want them to go after.

Jack: In terms of the level, you mean?

Josh: Yeah, like [a subscriber] been asking for a few days, “Do we think Nebraska can get a big-name quarterback?”

Jack: No.

Josh: And his answer is obviously no.

Jack: I agree with him.

Josh: Okay, so here's the thing. And I think that this is pretty obvious from listening to me. And there [are] many more months to explore this and you and I certainly can. I don't think that the program is really going in a super great direction. And so I'm going to view everything with a high level of skepticism right now, moving forward. With that out of the way, if you start there, any move that they make, you're going to be like, “Well, is this really going to be the thing that is going to get them over the top?”

But I don't want them to get a big-name quarterback. First of all, I don't think they can. Second of all, I don't think they want that either. And so I would rather them bring in one of those guys. And so, if the answer is, “Hey, do you think they can get a big-name quarterback?” No, I don't think that matters. Like, who cares that they can't get Brendan Sorsby. That's not the problem.

Dylan Raiola had a lot of faults. Dylan Raiola is not Exhibit A for Nebraska football being a failure on the football field. We all know that. It is the lines. The inability this year, certainly, to stop the run. This year to not be able to get off the field when they were on defense. And yeah, protect the quarterback at times too, which we saw at various points. Dylan Raiola got sacked nine times against Minnesota.

For all of the things that, you know, I want to pick on Matt Rhule and company for, not being able to land a big-name quarterback, to me, that doesn't matter.

Now he brings up another great point. “We are relying on evaluation; scary thought.” It absolutely is a scary thought. And that is true. But again, those are two different, entirely different conversations. Can they land a big-name quarterback? The answer is no. Do you trust their evaluation? That is tougher for me, just given that the quarterback position has not gone very swimmingly over the course of the last few years.

Jack: As I pointed out in the chat right now, assuming Dana's here, and if he's not, but hopefully he'll be involved. He was not involved in what is probably the most damning evaluation, which was Jeff Sims.

Josh: Correct. And they were way wrong on that. They could not have been more wrong.

Watch the clip below!

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