Dylan Raiola on NIL impacting his recruiting: 'I didn't want to deal with that'

Five-star freshman QB Dylan Raiola was certainly a hot commodity as a recruit, but he says he wanted nothing to do with any NIL negotiations before committing to the Cornhuskers.

The highly-touted quarterback was initially committed to Georgia, but ultimately swapped his commitment to Nebraska back on Dec. 18. Whether NIL was a major factor there is unknown, but either way, Raiola just likes staying out of the loop on the NIL negotiation side of things, focusing instead on playing ball. He explained that mindset when asked about NIL on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast.

“Yeah, that’s a different type time of recruiting, NIL space. People do it different ways, come at you different ways, but for me, I didn’t handle that stuff,” said Raiola. “My parents handled it, my marketing team handled it.”

It’s football first for him, while letting his folks deal with the off-field gymnastics.

“So. I’m grateful for that. I didn’t want to deal with that. But you guys handle that, I’ll play football, and that’s kind of how I like it done.”

Dylan Raiola holds an On3 NIL Valuation of $727,000. Additionally, don’t forget the Huskers have a solid collective as well, caled The 1890 Initiative.

Raiola enjoying first spring

The new Husker QB isn’t allowing the moment to pass him by and understands what a privilege it is to put on the Nebraska jersey every day. At recent media availability, Raiola revealed how his first few months have gone and explained his love and respect for the program.

“Nebraska is a special place. It’s always been like that,” Raiola said. “I never take it for granted how good our fans are. I try to be around my guys as much as possible. Take them out to go eat. Play Madden. It’s been good. I love living here. Not a lot of distractions, a lot of ball and being around your guys.”

Dylan Raiola actually boasts strong familial ties with the Cornhuskers. Raiola’s father played there in college. Then, his uncle — Donovan Raiola — is currently on Rhule’s staff as the offensive line coach and recently received a contract extension.

With those familial ties, it’s no shock Raiola ended up a Husker. And he sure was a massive recruiting win for head coach Matt Rhule. Raiola played high school football at Buford (GA), where he was a five-star prospect. He was the No. 21 overall recruit in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.