$1.3 million QB named 'crown jewel' of college football transfer portal

A quarterback at a major college football program is considered a "crown jewel" of the 2026 NCAA transfer portal cycle.

Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola (15) throws from the pocket during the game against the Maryland Terrapins | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

More than two weeks have passed since Indiana defeated Miami in the College Football Playoff National Championship game. Just under seven months remain until the beginning of the 2026 college football season.

The first several weeks after each season usher in a period for media to make way-too-early projections for what may occur in the following college football season. These projections may include top 25 team rankings, College Football Playoff brackets and top 100 player rankings.

Cody Nagel of CBS Sports released a list of the eight deepest quarterback rooms heading into the 2026 college football season. The first team on Nagel's list was Oregon, which added a proven starter in former Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola as a backup for 2026.

"Oregon couldn't have drawn this up any better. Not only did the Ducks get Dante Moore -- a potential top-five pick in the 2026 NFL draft -- back, but they also landed Dylan Raiola, one of the crown jewels of this year's transfer portal," Nagel wrote.

"Both were five-star recruits coming out of high school, and it shows: Moore ranked top-10 nationally in completion rate (71.8%) and passing touchdowns (30), while Raiola was on pace to break Nebraska's single-season completion rate before a season-ending injury on Nov. 1."

Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola (15) passes as Iowa Hawkeyes linebacker Jay Higgins (34) defends Friday, Nov. 29, 2024 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As Nagel alluded to, Raiola was a five-star quarterback in the 2024 recruiting cycle when he committed to Matt Rhule and the Cornhuskers. The 6-foot-3, 230-pounder passed for 2,819 yards, 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in his first season at Nebraska, guiding the Cornhuskers to a 7-6 record, their first bowl appearance since 2016 and first bowl victory since 2015.

Raiola set a pair of records for freshman quarterbacks at Nebraska in 2024. His 2,819 passing yards and 67.1% completion percentage are both program bests for the Cornhuskers.

Injury limited Raiola to just nine games in the 2025 season. He passed for 2,000 yards, 18 touchdowns and six interceptions in his final season at Nebraska. He completed 20 consecutive passes between the Cincinnati and Akron games at the beginning of the season, another program record.

Raiola transferred to Oregon with the intent to sit out a season and use his redshirt, something he will be able to do with Dante Moore's return. Interestingly, Moore redshirted at Oregon and sat behind Dillon Gabriel in 2024 after playing in nine games with UCLA his freshman season.

Oregon was one of two Big Ten programs on Nagel's list for the deepest quarterback rooms. Ohio State was the other program he mentioned as the Buckeyes will start Julian Sayin and back him up with five-star freshman Tavien St. Clair.

Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola (15) looks to throw | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images