Is Dylan Raiola Going to Be a Husker?
So you think Husker football was going to be boring in the offseason?
Guess again.
On Monday, bombshell news emerged that five-star QB high school prospect Dylan Raiola might be coming to Lincoln this week for a recruiting visit.
In case you've forgotten, Raiola is the son of former Husker great Dominic Raiola (All America center and Rimington Trophy winner). Dylan's also the nephew of current Husker O-line coach Donovan Raiola.
Dylan is also the top-ranked player in the Class of '24 - not just the best QB in the class, but the overall No.1 high school player in the country.
Nebraska's recruiting of Dylan began during the Scott Frost era. Apparently, Frost was a bit lax in the recruiting process. As a result, the chances of Nebraska landing Dylan seemed slim. After Frost was fired last fall and before Matt Rhule was hired, NU's odds of landing Dylan seemed even more remote.
However, once Rhule was hired, he immediately began pursuing Dylan. Raiola had been committed to Ohio State, but decommitted in the spring, giving the Huskers some hope that Dylan might be persuaded to come to Nebraska.
But in May, young Raiola committed to Georgia, thus seemingly ending NU's quest.
The deal was signed and sealed by Georgia. So much that Dylan's family moved to Buford, Georgia, so their son could be closer to the Georgia Bulldogs. He would also be able to play his final high school year at perennial football powerhouse Buford High.
During his senior year, Dylan completed 159 of 250 passes for a completion rate of 63.6%. He had 2,819 passing yards with 34 TDs and only one INT. He also ran for 3 TDs during an 11-2 season.
Note: The past three high school football seasons, Dylan has played for three different schools in three different states (Texas, Arizona and Georgia).
So it seemed he was a lock to play college ball for the Bulldogs. Committing to Georgia seemed to be the prudent thing to do. Nebraska had just come off its sixth consecutive losing season last year while the Bulldogs were coming off their second consecutive national championship.
No-brainer. Be a Bulldog.
But as Lee Corso says, "Not so fast, my friend." Earlier this week, credible sources were saying there is a very good chance Dylan is going to sign with Nebraska.
The Dylan Deal with Georgia that was signed and sealed might never be delivered.
When I heard about Dylan's pending visit, the first thing I thought about was what's going to happen to Danny Kaelin? He's the Huskers' Class of '24 QB commit. Kaelin is not chopped liver. He is one of the best QB prospects in the entire nation. He just completed his senior season at Bellevue West High School (NE).
Danny knew Rhule had been heavily recruiting Dylan Raiola, so Kaelin committed to the University of Missouri. In May of this year, when Dylan committed to Georgia, Danny decommitted from the Tigers and committed to the Huskers.
Great news. But now at the eleventh hour, Danny's position at Nebraska looks tenuous..
What's going to happen to him? Every QB worth his salt wants to be the starter. Vying for playing time behind someone like Raiola, doesn't bode well for Danny.
Not to worry. Coach Rhule reassured Danny that Nebraska would still honor its scholarship offer no matter what happens with Dylan..
NIce move. But is Danny going to be content to sit on the bench at Nebraska?
It would seem Kaelin isn't being left with much time to find another seat in the world of college football's musical chairs.
At first glance, bringing in Dylan Raiola seems to be a big slap in the face for Kaelin. It casts a bad light on Matt Rhule as well as the Husker football program.
Having said all that, there may be some mitigating circumstances that could make perfectly good sense of everything. (I'll admit I don't know all the details.)
So what do I mean?
If before Danny decommitted from Missouri, the coaches said to him, "We'd love to have you come to Nebraska, but we are still pursuing Dylan Raiola. If you still want to commit to the Huskers with that in mind, we'll have a scholarship for you.."
In my view, that might be the only way this deal is palatable.
To the other question as to what happens should former Ohio State QB Kyle McCord commit to the Huskers, I think the entire process will solve itself.
By that I mean McCord has only one year of eligibility remaining. He comes to Nebraska and plays one year. Both Kaelin (if he stays) and Raiola will likely redshirt in '24. Throwing either Danny or Dylan into the mix next fall may not be a wise move for either of the two incoming freshman QBs. Let McCord dazzle for one year and the Huskers move on to 2025 with two dang good quarterbacks.
