Matt Rhule talks about Dylan Raiola’s decision to switch NFL teams and join the Huskers: “He always had a heart here at Nebraska.”
On Monday, five-star player Dylan Raiola switched his long-term pledge from Georgia to Nebraska. This was one the biggest moves in the 2024 recruiting class.
In the end, though, Matt Rhule declared it was a surprise turn of events and that Raiola made the choice by calling the Nebraska teacher a week or a half beforehand signing day.
This past weekend, Rhule got a call that said, “Hey coach, I’m convinced I want to attend college and be a Husker.” Rhule told Josh Pate of 247Sports, “… To me, the way he hires people is somewhat different.
I believe his heart has always been in Nebraska. Lots of changes occurred in Nebraska in the past few years.
I just kind of followed along this year and saw how far we came and how we did things. In the end, I wanted to come tour and then become one of us.
Dylan Raiola is the best quarterback among the Class of 2024, and Nebraska has never given up on him.
But Cornhuskers teacher Matt Rhule said he wasn’t ready for the news he got a few days earlier from the star prospect: he switched his pledge from Georgia to Nebraska and signed with the Cornhuskers upon Wednesday.
It was not something Rhule had planned for, he said in a video exchange with Josh Pate posted to the YouTube site on Wednesday. “I got a call over the weekend saying, ‘Hello coach, I believe I want to come be a Husker.'”
Raiola’s move from Georgia with Nebraska was a big part of why the Cornhuskers were one of the big wins in November.
Nebraska had a tough time finding a steady quarterback in 2023, when they went 5-7 and three different players tried but failed to hold out the position.
Raiola is good enough that he might be able to start from the first game for Nebraska. This is something that probably wouldn’t have happened at Georgia, where starter Carson Klein is back for another year.
Rhule said of Raiola, “I think the way he hires people is a little different.” “I believe that his heart has always been in Nebraska.” Nebraska has had a lot of events in the last few years.
He pretty much followed us around all year and saw how we did things and how far we came. He finally wanted to come and visit and be a part of our family.
Dylan has a lot of ties to Nebraska. His father, Dominic Raiola, was a star offensive tackle for the Cornhuskers, and his uncle, Donovan Raiola, is the offensive line coach at Nebraska. Legacy ties were a big part of Nebraska’s first complete signing class beneath Rhule.
“I really think the youngsters nowadays, many of them anyway, play to people,” said Rhule. “They play for those who they care about.” For me, this is constantly about people I know.
Six sons of past players are among the players we signed. These are called “legacy players.” To me, this is frequently about people.”
Nebraska had to lose four games in a row to finish the regular season, leaving them one win short of being eligible for the bowl season.
But Rhule is used to teams getting off to slow starts. Years ago, his first team at Temple had a 2-10 record. In 2017, his first band at Baylor had a 1-11 record.
He quickly turned around both teams and made them winners. The addition of Raiola gives Nebraska fans confidence that a similar change is on the way.
“I think if there’s anything that we’ve done, whether it is Temple, Baylor, or here, is that the adolescents who come and play for us, whether or not it’s on the the field or off, have achieved a lot of success,” said Rhule.