Kirk Herbstreit clears the air on Dylan Raiola, Georgia, Nebraska

ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit has spoken out regarding an interview Dylan Raiola’s father gave on National Signing Day. In the interview, Dominic Raiola hinted Herbstreit might have played a role in Dylan’s decision to flip his commitment from Georgia to Nebraska, and Herbstreit told Andy Staples that was not the case.

Herbstreit joined The Paul Finebaum Show on Thursday, one day after Dominic Raiola’s comments, and he said the conversation didn’t go the way it was necessarily presented. He doesn’t follow recruiting closely, and his intention wasn’t to “sell” Raiola on Nebraska rather than Georgia.

While Herbstreit said he had good things to say about Matt Rhule, that stems from his interactions with the Cornhuskers head coach – not because he was favoring Nebraska over Georgia. Dominic Raiola asked Herbstreit about Rhule, but he also was seeking counsel on the decision as a whole.

“I, of course, did not sell Nebraska and try to tell anybody not to go to Georgia,” Herbstreit said. “That’s the most ridiculous thing that anybody would do that’s not familiar with anybody’s recruiting. But I did compliment Matt Rhule. If I’m guilty of anything, I said Matt Rhule is a good coach and he’s a good man. And I believe he will bring Nebraska back the way he did Temple and Baylor. So if I’m wrong for doing that, I apologize. But I wasn’t trying to sell Nebraska to anybody and I wasn’t trying anybody to ever leave Georgia.

“Why would I ever tell anybody to leave Georgia? Like, Georgia is now … the bar in the sport. And I love Kirby, and Kirby and I have a great relationship. So that’s kind of silly that I would ever do that. You ever hear me talk about Georgia on the air? You ever heard me do their games? I have nothing but positive things to say about Georgia, like I do almost every team in the country. So I’m not really sure where this came from other than just people jumping to conclusions or possibly just trying to create trouble is all.”

The Raiola family has a strong connection to Nebraska. Dominic Raiola starred for the Cornhuskers and his brother, Donovan, is their offensive line coach. Those were factors in Dylan Raiola’s decision, and Dominic called Herbstreit to talk about it.

The fact that Raiola was considering Nebraska considering his family’s history stood out, Herbstreit said.

“The other part of it that he said was that I think the family legacy – I think he mentioned he had a brother that was an assistant coach at Nebraska and, of course Dom was a great player there himself, All-American. And I think it sounded like the family, out of respect for their love for Nebraska, that they were really torn, is what he made it sound like,” Kirk Herbstreit said. “I just thought I could, being a guy that went to Ohio State and a lot of it had to do with my dad, I just said, wow, the fact that your son can go to any school – Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, you name any school, any powerhouse that’s competing for national titles.

“And because of his respect for his own dad, he’s thinking about maybe going to Nebraska, a place that hasn’t competed for national titles and over 20 years? That says a lot about who the kid is, as far as what he wants to do. It’s not just about playing with great players and trying to go to the NFL. He’s thinking a little bit more about it because of maybe the way he grew up in that house and the way they love Nebraska. So I just said, wow, that’s a powerful thing, if he ended up doing that.”

During the conversation with Dominic Raiola, Kirk Herbstreit recalled talking about Rhule’s prowess as a head coach. He turned Temple and Baylor around before a stint in the NFL. He’s now trying to do the same at Nebraska, and Herbstreit said he only spoke highly of Rhule as a coach because Dylan Raiola was considering Nebraska and didn’t try to push him one way or the other.

“Honestly, all I did was compliment Matt Rhule and tell him that he’s a good guy,” Herbstreit said. “And I guess I would ask people … should I have said, ‘Matt Rhule’s a turd and he’s a bad guy? Don’t don’t go to Nebraska. Matt Rhule’s terrible.’ And if I don’t believe that? I think Matt Rhule’s a good guy. So that’s what I said.”