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Dayton Raiola commits to Nebraska, follows father and brother to Lincoln

On3 imageby:Bryan Munson•09/22/24•

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Colt McCoy and Dayton Raiola (Photo credit: Casey Fritton/HuskerOnline)

Nebraska has its quarterback for the 2026 class. It’s a familiar name—in fact, it’s the same last name as the quarterback commitment in 2024 and the current starting quarterback for the Huskers. Dayton Raiola, a junior quarterback from Buford (Ga.), has committed to Matt Rhule and will follow his father and brother to Nebraska.

“Every time I go up there to Nebraska, it feels like home,” Raiola said. “It never gets old. There is no place like Nebraska is a true statement.”

Dayton has been around the Nebraska program all of his life. He says he has known from a very early age that he wanted to become a Husker.

“I have wanted to go to Nebraska since my mom changed my diaper in the endzone when I was two or three years old,” Raiola said. “It’s been my dream school ever since I could remember.

“When I was in fourth or fifth grade, I wanted to put my dad’s Nebraska jersey up in my room so I could look at it every night before going to sleep.”

Nebraska is a family school for the Raiola’s

Dayton is a Nebraska legacy. His father played for The Big Red, and his brother plays for Matt Rhule. His sister also works for the Nebraska football program.

“It’s surreal,” Raiola said. “My dad went there, he was an All-American, and now his name is in the stadium. My brother is there now; he’s the starting quarterback, and I think he’s one of the best quarterbacks in college football, and he’s only a true freshman.

“I think about me, and I ask myself, ‘Why wouldn’t I go to Nebraska?’. It’s home. It’s always felt like home, and now the rest of the world knows it.”

Dayton started to feel the urge to want to commit to Matt Rhule and Nebraska at the first game of the 2024 season. Following the second game of the season, he told his parents, and that led to some time to pray about the decision before making the call to Coach Rhule.

“Leading up to my brother’s first game, I said to myself, ‘I want to go here so bad.’,” Raiola said. “He gets the loudest applause after they announce him as the starting quarterback, and I knew it was where I wanted to go.

“I told Dylan after his game against UTEP. The following week comes, and they beat Colorado. That was the loudest I had ever heard at Memorial Stadium, and that’s when I started talking to my parents about wanting to commit. They told me it was on me.

“I had my quiet time with God, and I prayed about it. It was just the right time to do it today. I called coach Rhule maybe 30 minutes before I announced it to everyone.”

Dayton Raiola has led Buford to four wins since dropping season opener

Dayton has had to wait behind his brother to become a starting high school quarterback. For some, it may have been not very pleasant to have to wait. He used the time to learn from his older brother and prepare for his turn.

“It’s truly special. I got to sit behind my brother for two years and watch him. Most people would take it as they wanted to play really bad, and I took it as a chance to learn everything I could from him so that when my time came, I could go out and execute.

“We had a little speed bump in the first game, but that is what those first games are for. They were the No. 6 team in the country (now Milton (Ga.) is rated No.3), and it was my first game as a starting quarterback.

“It didn’t go as planned, but you have to learn from it and move on. As Nebraska says, ‘What’s Next?’. Each week, our whole team has improved. We had a big win against Douglas County two weeks ago and handled our business last week against Discovery.”

Dayton and his team are off this week, and he’s looking for an opportunity to head to Texas to work with his quarterback trainer. He sees this week as an opportunity to improve, which will help his team down the stretch as they pursue their state championship goal.

“We have a bye this week, and I was just talking to my parents about going to see Jeff Christensen. I think we will figure out a time so I can get a little tune-up and some little touch-ups there with him.

“We’re Buford, and we are full steam ahead. Our goal is a state championship, and I feel like we have the guys to do it this year, and collectively, we are so close, and I feel like the defense can rely on the offense, and the offense can rely on the defense. We are full steam ahead.”

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