Paul Finebaum responds to allegations against Kirk Herbstreit in Dylan Raiola recruitment

Paul Finebaum has weighed in on the allegations against Kirk Herbstreit regarding the recruitment of Nebraska signee Dylan Raiola. Raiola’s father, Dominic, accused Herbstreit of playing a role in his recruitment and the decision to flip his commitment.

During an interview on National Signing Day, Dominic Raiola said Herbstreit was one of the people he heard from as news broke of Dylan’s interest in Nebraska. Raiola said the College GameDay analyst 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.’”

Finebaum was asked about the situation by caller Bill from Florida, and he stressed he needed more information before commenting on the situation. Still, combining the allegations against Herbstreit with Pat McAfee’s remarks about Georgia fans, he thinks College GameDay could get an interesting reception if it heads to Athens next year.

That said, although he didn’t know much about the circumstances, Finebaum said it doesn’t look good for Herbstreit on the surface.

“Listen, I used to defend Herbstreit without even thinking, but I’m not gonna do that until I know information,” Finebaum said. “Being objective, this is a really bad look for Herbstreit.”

As of 4:45 p.m. ET Wednesday, Herbstreit hadn’t yet commented on the allegations from Raiola’s father. The caller suggested he put out a statement, and Finebaum agreed, especially if they turn out not to be true.

“He ought to [put out a statement],” Finebaum said. “First of all, if it’s not true – and I remember Eli Drinkwitz said something about Herbstreit on our show a couple years ago, and Herbstreit texted me within five seconds. This story’s been out for two or three hours and I have yet to hear anything. He’s not shy. He’s pretty flippant on Twitter.”

Finebaum heard Dominic Raiola’s comments before he went on the air. He again stressed the need to gather all the information, but said Kirk Herbstreit had an invitation to call in and defend himself if he wanted.

“Again, I just heard about that right before the show started,” Finebaum said. “I certainly think we need to find out what exactly happened. But if Herbstreit didn’t do that, then he’s welcome to call in and deny it. But right now, you have to believe he did it based on the fact it’s been a couple hours and we haven’t heard any denial. I know that’s not exactly logic, but it’s the way it usually works.”

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.