How Matt Rhule, Nebraska positioned themselves to sign Dylan Raiola, Kyle McCord

Seemingly out of nowhere, On3 Industry Rankings No. 3 quarterback Dylan Raiola is back in the recruiting headlines. On3’s Chad Simmons reported on Nebraska still being in the mix for the current Georgia commit, with a push coming before National Signing Day. Matt Rhule is certainly swinging for the fences in what would be a huge moment for the program.

If you were to ask Sean Callahan of On3’s Husker Online about Raiola 24 hours ago, he would have said something about the quarterback moving in on campus in Athens shortly. Buford High School’s fall semester ends on Dec. 20 and Raiola would be eligible to begin practicing with Georgia just a day later ahead of the Orange Bowl.

Callahan is not too sure what occurred to make the relationship sour.

“I don’t know what happened at Georgia this past week,” Callahan said during Monday’s episode of Andy Staples On3. “Did something happen when the Raiola’s were on campus and hanging out last weekend? I don’t know. Because they moved to Georgia to be closer to Georgia.”

Now, Nebraska is not a random program coming into this recruitment. Raiola has been around the Huskers his entire life, with his father playing there in college and coming to games as a kid. His uncle — Donovan Raiola — is currently on Rhule’s staff as the offensive line coach and recently received a contract extension.

“He was the only coach retained from the Scott Frost staff,” Callahan said. “The offensive line played well this year and things are really strong with Matt Rhule and Donovan Raiola. It looks like his position is solid in Lincoln and this coaching staff.”

Raiola is already so familiar with the program that a rash decision would not be made just over a week away from National Signing Day. Nebraska was in the race when Raiola made his commitment to Georgia and has connected with Rhule’s staff. There would be no relationship to rush.

On3’s Hayes Fawcett was first to report of an official visit happening beginning on Dec. 15 but it may just be dotting i’s and crossing t’s at that point.

“The dead period starts Sunday,” Callahan said. “Would there need to be another official visit that takes place this weekend? Or this week? Does he even need to do that? His uncle is here. So, he can come to Lincoln, Nebraska, at any time he wants.

“He’s been here countless times as a young kid and even as a high school recruit. There is not much more he needs to see.”

Nebraska still looking to add Kyle McCord out of transfer portal

Raiola is not the only quarterback Nebraska is currently recruiting. A huge name out of the transfer portal was recently in Lincoln for a visit, with Ohio State‘s Kyle McCord considering the Huskers. In fact, Callahan inserted an On3 RPM for McCord to ultimately choose Nebraska.

So how would the situation with McCord and Raiola play out during the 2024 season? Callahan and Staples compared it to Texas with Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning — at least from the preseason.

McCord is the guy during the 2024 season, only having one year of eligibility remaining. Raiola gets playing time before taking over as the starter in 2025. When coaches can present a quarterback plan to recruits and transfer portal entrants, they begin to believe.

“If Kyle McCord comes to Nebraska, you can still play Raiola in up to four games,” Callahan said. “There is a lot that makes sense that would allow Matt Rhule to continue to build this team and this roster where, by 2025 when Raiola would theoretically have his opportunity, it would be a more stocked Big Ten team. And more recruits would look that way when you have a guy like Raiola waiting in the wings and McCord there right now if that plays out that way.”

At the time of posting, neither McCord nor Raiola have committed to Nebraska. Rhule still needs to get both over the line before it becomes a reality. But these are crazy and exciting times for a program desperately looking to get back on the national scene.