Nebraska Lands a Commitment from the No. 1 Quarterback in 2024 Class

How about that!

Matt Rhule and the Nebraska Cornhuskers have landed a landmark commitment from Dylan Raiola, the No. 1 quarterback in the 2024 class. The 6-foot-2.5, 230-pound quarterback is the highest-ranked recruit in school history for the Huskers. He decided Monday with early national signing day on the horizon, coming on Wednesday this week. Many teams like USC, Ohio State and Texas highly recruited Raiola. He announced his commitment a day after his most recent official visit to Nebraska this past weekend.

Here are a few takes from the landmark commitment. 

Nebraska Lands a Commitment from the No. 1 Quarterback in the 2024 Class

Husker Legacy

This is what matters the most! Not only is Raiola the highest-ranked recruit since 2008, but he is also a Nebraska legacy commitment. His dad, Dominic Raiola, was a former offensive lineman for the Huskers and a 14-year NFL veteran for the Detroit Lions. Additionally, Raiola’s uncle, Donovan Raiola, is Nebraska’s current offensive line coach. He comes to Lincoln, following his father’s footsteps, who just happens to have his name in Memorial Stadium. 

What does this Mean?

The 2023 season was viewed by many as a disappointment. Finishing just short of a bowl game with a 5-7 record was not ideal. There were a lot of issues in general, but a big problem was on the offense with turnovers. Nebraska quarterbacks finished the 2023 season with 16 interceptions. Granted, this was just in high school ball, but Raiola only threw 11 interceptions in high school. 

Raiola was scouted to have an advanced arm ability and has been touted as having the ability to make good decisions and high-level throws, according to ON3. In high school, he has shown the ability to make creative plays while facing pressure from the defense. As a senior at Buford High School in Georgia, he threw for nearly 2,700 yards for 34 touchdowns and only one interception. 

He joins a quarterback room that has undergone many changes in the past few seasons but should have a chance to start immediately. As long as they don’t transfer, Raiola will join Chubba Purdy, Heinrich Haarberg, and incoming freshman Daniel Kaelin from Bellevue West High School. If he does start as a true freshman, Raiola will have plenty of weapons at his disposal. Including incoming four-star freshman tight end Carter Nelson out of Ainsworth, freshmen Malachi Coleman and Jaylen Lloyd, and sophomore tight end Thomas Fidone, to name a few. Raiola also could have done some peer recruiting as well. There is a lot to look forward to in the coming days and the next few seasons. 

This was the Third Attempt

It was only a week ago that news had come out that Nebraska was making a late push for Raiola. It would be their third attempt at landing his services. Obviously, the first attempt was when former head coach Scott Frost was leading the football program. The Huskers missed out on him as Raiola committed to the Ohio State Buckeyes. 

All was quiet until last spring when he de-committed from the Buckeyes. This time, Rhule and his staff were leading the program in their first offseason and got into Raiola’s final three schools. Unfortunately, he then committed to the Georgia Bulldogs in May. Now, Raiola has flipped his commitment to the Huskers, becoming the highest-ranked recruit in school history. 

Landmark Commitment

Only one season into the Rhule era in Lincoln and landing Raiola is the start of something remarkable at Nebraska. The season didn’t go how Rhule wanted it to be, but starting off the offseason with something like this changes the trajectory of the program. 

He joins the program, which hasn’t seen a winning season or postseason since 2016. 

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