Before he gets to the hard work of helping the build at Nebraska, 2024 quarterback signee Dylan Raiola will play in the Polynesian Bowl in Honolulu later this week.
Raiola, who spent time growing up in Hawaii, said he’s honored to play in front of family and friends this week. He said he also can’t wait to get to Lincoln and get to work with his teammates, who began reporting over the weekend.
“I’m excited. I can’t wait to get back up there,” Raiola told 247Sports. “I’m going to enjoy this weather as long as I can because it’s in the negatives right now. I’m just excited to get up there with my teammates and get to work. We have a great foundation that Coach Rhule laid last year, but it’s our job to take it and run.”
It has been only about a month since Raiola officially visited Nebraska just before National Signing Day and ended up flipping from Georgia to the Huskers. Raiola became the top-rated commit for the Huskers in the last 20 years and said being familiar with the Husker program for most of his life made the conversations late in the recruiting process more about goals and his future with the program, rather than any kind of pitch from the Huskers.
“He didn’t really give me a pitch,” Raiola said. “It was some hard conversations. He really challenged me to write everything out and lay everything out I wanted to do, and the last thing I wanted to do was be a transformational leader. To go to a program like that, I think it could be special. Georgia is the powerhouse now and I have a lot of respect for that program and they’re going to continue with great success and great things, but I think Nebraska is a college program that people have forgotten about and I think it’s about that time to wake that sleeping giant up.”
Raiola said the decision to back off his commitment to Georgia was a difficult one. Raiola said there was more than just on-the-field considerations that led to his decision.
“It was a hard time,” Raiola said. “Coach Smart, what he’s done with his program, it’s hard to turn away from, I just felt a tug at my heart and God had other plans for me and that was to go to Nebraska. to be able to be a leader in that program and take Nebraska back with my teammates, I think it could be special. It’s one of the only places in the country you can do that with the legacy of my dad there, and how much the state really pours into Nebraska.”
So far this week in Hawaii, Raiola has shown off the tools that have him as the No. 1 quarterback in the country according to 247Sports. In Monday’s practice, Raiola threw passes of 70 and 72 yards in a long throw competition — he was the only quarterback to hit the 70-yard mark on the day — and looked comfortable getting to know his teammates this week in Hawaii.
After Friday’s showcase event, Raiola will return to the cold of Nebraska to begin work on winter conditioning with the double-digit freshmen who enrolled early in Lincoln.
Raiola said he’s eager to get to work.
“Coach Rhule has been preaching to his team to not look to far ahead, but at the same time you have to prepare for those moments before they happen,” Raiola said. “The biggest thing is staying on the journey. The trajectory of the journey can change, but you just have to stay level headed and stay grinding throughout the whole thing.”
Raiola, who spent time growing up in Hawaii, said he’s honored to play in front of family and friends this week. He said he also can’t wait to get to Lincoln and get to work with his teammates, who began reporting over the weekend.
“I’m excited. I can’t wait to get back up there,” Raiola told 247Sports. “I’m going to enjoy this weather as long as I can because it’s in the negatives right now. I’m just excited to get up there with my teammates and get to work. We have a great foundation that Coach Rhule laid last year, but it’s our job to take it and run.”
It has been only about a month since Raiola officially visited Nebraska just before National Signing Day and ended up flipping from Georgia to the Huskers. Raiola became the top-rated commit for the Huskers in the last 20 years and said being familiar with the Husker program for most of his life made the conversations late in the recruiting process more about goals and his future with the program, rather than any kind of pitch from the Huskers.
“He didn’t really give me a pitch,” Raiola said. “It was some hard conversations. He really challenged me to write everything out and lay everything out I wanted to do, and the last thing I wanted to do was be a transformational leader. To go to a program like that, I think it could be special. Georgia is the powerhouse now and I have a lot of respect for that program and they’re going to continue with great success and great things, but I think Nebraska is a college program that people have forgotten about and I think it’s about that time to wake that sleeping giant up.”
Raiola said the decision to back off his commitment to Georgia was a difficult one. Raiola said there was more than just on-the-field considerations that led to his decision.
“It was a hard time,” Raiola said. “Coach Smart, what he’s done with his program, it’s hard to turn away from, I just felt a tug at my heart and God had other plans for me and that was to go to Nebraska. to be able to be a leader in that program and take Nebraska back with my teammates, I think it could be special. It’s one of the only places in the country you can do that with the legacy of my dad there, and how much the state really pours into Nebraska.”
So far this week in Hawaii, Raiola has shown off the tools that have him as the No. 1 quarterback in the country according to 247Sports. In Monday’s practice, Raiola threw passes of 70 and 72 yards in a long throw competition — he was the only quarterback to hit the 70-yard mark on the day — and looked comfortable getting to know his teammates this week in Hawaii.
After Friday’s showcase event, Raiola will return to the cold of Nebraska to begin work on winter conditioning with the double-digit freshmen who enrolled early in Lincoln.
Raiola said he’s eager to get to work.
“Coach Rhule has been preaching to his team to not look to far ahead, but at the same time you have to prepare for those moments before they happen,” Raiola said. “The biggest thing is staying on the journey. The trajectory of the journey can change, but you just have to stay level headed and stay grinding throughout the whole thing.”
