College Football

Nebraska officially names Dylan Raiola starting quarterback

Published Aug. 21, 2024 12:31 p.m. ET

True freshman and former consensus five-star recruit Dylan Raiola will be the Nebraska Cornhuskers' starting quarterback to open the season, the team announced Wednesday.

Raiola was expected to win the job ever since his last-minute flip to Nebraska just before early signing day last December. He had previously been committed to Georgia and was committed to Ohio State before that. Raiola had long been universally considered one of the best overall prospects in the entire class of 2024.

Matt Rhule explains how Nebraska football will grow

However, Raiola ultimately signed his national letter of intent for the program his family has deep ties to. His father, Dominic Raiola, was an All-American offensive lineman for the Cornhuskers in the late 1990s and has his number retired there, while his uncle Donovan Raiola is Nebraska's current offensive line coach.

Donovan Raiola was the one assistant head coach Matt Rhule kept from his predecessor, Scott Frost, upon taking over Nebraska in 2023.

Dylan Raiola's college football debut will come Week 1 when Nebraska hosts UTEP. That will be a prelude to a Week 2 prime-time showdown between Nebraska and longtime rival Colorado, where Rhule and Raiola will face off against Buffaloes counterparts Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders and star quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

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