Matt Rhule shares what he has seen from Dylan Raiola since his arrival

Quarterback Dylan Raiola will be the biggest story surrounding Nebraska spring football. Raiola might only be a true freshman but head coach Matt Rhule has a special player at his disposal. He is getting acclimated to college life as he prepares to fight for the starting job throughout spring and into the fall.

Rhule was asked what he has already seen from Raiola early in his time in Lincoln, saying he is already a hard worker. While there was a lot of hype surrounding his recruitment, Raiola has already put it behind him and become focused on Nebraska.

“I just see a guy that understands that everything that happened is in the past,” Rhule said when speaking to On3’s J.D. PicKell. “With all of the recruiting, all of the accolades. None of that really means anything here. So, I just see a guy that shows up and works every day. Works on football, works on his own, works on the Xs and Os, works on the mat drills, works on the weightlifting.”

Raiola played high school football at Buford (GA) High School, where he was a five-star prospect. He was the No. 21 overall recruit in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Flipping from Georgia to Nebraska was one of the storylines of the entire recruiting cycle. Rhule being able to bring Raiola into the program was a massive success and came out of almost nowhere.

But as he said, nothing about the past matters anymore. Raiola is focused on getting better on a daily basis and already has a good support system around him. Heinrich Haarberg has set the example from the get-go after playing for the Huskers last season.

“When we grade our players, Heinrich, our junior quarterback, is always one of the top five hardest workers on the team,” Rhule said. “And then you bring in Dylan, you bring in Danny (Daniel Kaelin), and they’re right there with him in terms of leading, not by example, but through action.

“I think that’s what Dylan needs to do. I think he just needs to not worry about expectations or what other people think. Just make sure he can look himself in the mirror every night and say ‘Man, I really busted my tail today.’ If he does that, he’s got tremendous talent — good things will happen to him.”