Andy Staples defends Kirk Herbstreit over Dylan Raiola recruitment situation

After Dominic Raiola discussed a conversation he had with Kirk Herbstreit about Dylan Raiola’s recruitment, the quotes quickly made their way around the college football world. Raiola’s father recalled Herbstreit he’s “got to do it” regarding his decision to flip his commitment from Georgia to Nebraska during an interview on Wednesday.

On3’s Andy Staples discussed the situation Wednesday night after speaking with Herbstreit, who acknowledged he has a close relationship with Dominic Raiola. However, Herbstreit doesn’t follow recruiting very closely, and the conversation was more “father to father,” Staples said.

“I said Kirk, what is your side of the story on this?” Staples said on Andy Staples On3. “And we talked about it, and he explained that he has a relationship with Dominic Raiola. They know each other, they’ve talked plenty of times before and that they were having a conversation about Dylan’s recruitment. Now, Kirk is quick to point out that he is not someone who follows a lot of the day-to-day of recruiting. So the part I’m not so sure is quite accurate from Dom’s retelling of the story is the, Kirk finds out that Dylan is considering the flip and asked Dom to call right out of the blue to say, ‘Go to Nebraska.’ That’s not how it happened, according to Kirk.

“Basically they were talking kind of father to father – Kirk’s had a few sons play college football, as well. … And they’re talking about the whole process. Basically, according to Kirk, Dom was asking, ‘Hey, how much should I talk about the possibility of if you go to Nebraska, you could be a program changer, you could be a difference maker, you could be a legend if the if you wind up helping bring this program back to where it wants to be?’ And Kirk – who was complimentary of Matt Rhule, the Nebraska coach, and Kirby Smart in this whole situation – says, ‘Well, yeah, that would that would be cool. Like, it would be cool if he could do that.’ And that’s pretty much where it was, which is not the same thing as, ‘Go to Nebraska.'”

The comments from Raiola’s father came in the middle of National Signing Day when Dominic Raiola said Herbstreit was one of the people he heard from as news broke of Dylan’s interest in Nebraska. Raiola said Herbstreit voiced his support for the Cornhuskers.

“I will bring up one guy’s name. His name’s Kirk Herbstreit,” he said. “When he saw the smoke about Dylan entertaining Nebraska, he called me and he said, ‘Dude, is this true? He’s got to do it.’

“His affinity for Nebraska, for a guy like that, to tell me and get behind me, I knew he needed to do it. But I wasn’t going to sit here and say, ‘You need to go change that place or be a part of the change of that place.’ So when Kirk told me that, I was like, man. I’ve had other coaches reach out to me and say, ‘Look the place is special. Coach Rhule’s a special leader.’”

Andy Staples: Georgia and Nebraska are much different situations

Those comments generated a response from Georgia fans, who weren’t happy to hear Kirk Herbstreit spoke with Dominic Raiola about Dylan’s plans. However, after talking with the College GameDay analyst, Staples said it likely wasn’t as big as they thought it was.

Instead, it was more Herbstreit giving his opinion about the two programs – just as he’s paid to do on ESPN – and he didn’t outright say Dylan Raiola should go to Nebraska.

“If you’re a Georgia fan and you’re mad at Kirk Herbstreit because you think that he told Dylan Raiola or told Dylan Raiola’s dad that Dylan should go to Nebraska, that’s not how it happened,” Staples said. “He said, basically, that Dominic Raiola should share that piece of his opinion – of Dominic Raiola’s opinion – with his son. I think it’s an absolutely legitimate thing. Yes, Dominic Raiola should talk about what it would mean if Dylan goes to Nebraska and what it would mean if Dylan goes to Georgia and how different those situations are because they are different. Like, that’s not breaking news. The next quarterback who leads Georgia to a national title will be the first one since Stetson Bennett did it twice – three years ago, two years ago.

“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out, like, the quarterback who leads Nebraska back to national prominence is going to be a legend because that’s the situation Nebraska’s in. It doesn’t have anything to do with a value judgment of Nebraska over Georgia. Those are just the particular situations that Nebraska is in and Georgia is in, and different players want different things. … This is a very nuanced conversation that two dads are having that gets boiled down to one sound bite from one interview. That’s not exactly how it all happens.”

Raiola was a highly rated recruit from the 2024 cycle and initially committed to Ohio State. He then backed off that pledge and chose Georgia, but de-committed after Carson Beck announced his plans to return to the Bulldogs. That then took him to Nebraska – his dad’s alma mater – where he signed in December.

Raiola came in as a five-star prospect and the No. 21-ranked recruit in the country, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. His commitment was a big one for Matt Rhule.