As expected, Nebraska coach Matt Rhule named freshman Dylan Raiola the starting quarterback for the Cornhuskers’ season opener against UTEP on Aug. 31.
The last — and only — true freshman to start at quarterback for Nebraska was Adrian Martinez in 2018. Raiola will be the fourth true freshman in Huskers history to start any game at quarterback, joining Martinez, Tommie Frazier (seven starts in 1992) and Cody Green (two starts in 2009).
Speaking earlier this week on “The Jim Rome Show,” Rhule said Raiola, 19, is the whole package.
“He has tremendous arm talent. He’s big. He’s physical,” Rhule said. “He’s powerful but it’s not ’til he gets here that you truly see what makes him special. He’s a tremendous teammate. He works at it all day long. One of the first guys in the building, one of the last guys to leave. And he’s got humble confidence that exudes from him.”
Raiola bested returning starter Heinrich Haarberg and fellow true freshman Daniel Kaelin to earn the starting job.
Raiola, who played his senior season at Buford High School in Georgia, flipped his commitment from Georgia to Nebraska just before the early signing period last December.
At the time, the five-star recruit was the No. 6 overall prospect in the 247Sports composite rankings. He committed to Ohio State in 2022, decommitted before the end of the year and chose Georgia last May over Nebraska and Southern California.
Raiola became the second highest-rated recruit in Nebraska program history when he signed his national letter of intent.
He is the son of Dominic Raiola, who played center at Nebraska and spent 14 years in the NFL with the Detroit Lions.
Rhule is in his second season at Nebraska, charged with turning around a storied program that hasn’t played in a bowl game since 2016. The Cornhuskers were 5-7 last season.
–Field Level Media