Matt Rhule evaluates Dylan Raiola's growth after spring game

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule was very pleased with freshman Dylan Raiola’s growth at quarterback following the spring game.

It seems like the former five-star quarterback grew a lot in a few short months. Raiola is firmly in the QB1 competition for the Huskers and he doesn’t look like the typical freshman quarterback on the field.

Sound decisions are already being made by Raiola, according to Rhule.

“That’s a great question,” Rhule said. “I don’t know how to answer that. I usually don’t get tongue twisted very often but I think Dylan’s had a very good spring. The plays I liked when I was doing the TV at one point, that one where we kicked a field goal that we missed. 

“You can see he wanted so badly to throw the ball back across the middle of the field as you’re scrambling and he didn’t. The one scrambling is probably a sack, you know, and we’ve got two hands with the ball as he’s running so it’s gonna be the little things with Dylan, not the big things.” 

There’s already the feel for the game, as Rhule alluded to. Raiola won’t shy away from the moment and it seems like he will improve as the summer rolls on towards the coming season.

“He’s got a great feel for the game,” Rhule said. “He’s got a big time arm, he’s calm. It’s gonna be the little things, it’s going to be protecting the football, taking three, managing the game. I thought, it just felt like he did a lot of those things, but he hasn’t done all them. 

“He’s grown as spring has gone on so he, like all the rest of our players, I think had a chance today to just improve on what they did last week and I thought in a lot of ways he did.”

If Raiola keeps improving, he might be able to thank three-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes. The young gun plans to work with the MVP.

As a member of the Class of 2024, Railoa was a five-star recruit out of Buford (Ga.) High, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 2 overall prospect in the state, the No. 3 quarterback in the class and the No. 21 overall prospect in the class.