Nebraska has announced that 5-star freshman Dylan Raiola will start as the team’s quarterback for the 2024 season. The Cornhuskers are set to face UTEP on August 31, marking Raiola’s debut as the starting QB.
Raiola, who committed to Nebraska in December 2023, is the highest-rated recruit in the program’s history since ESPN began tracking recruits in 2006. ESPN ranked him as the top pocket passer in the 2024 recruiting class. Before committing to Nebraska, Raiola was initially pledged to Georgia.
Raiola’s arrival comes at a time when Nebraska is striving to regain its footing after several challenging seasons. The team has not achieved a winning record since 2016 and has gone through four head coaches during this period: Mike Riley, Scott Frost, Mickey Joseph, and Matt Rhule, who took over in 2023.
In Rhule’s first season, the Cornhuskers posted a 5-7 record, with the offense averaging 18 points per game—a decline from the 22.6 points per game in 2022.
Raiola won the starting position over Heinrich Haarberg, who started eight games for Nebraska last season as a sophomore. Haarberg recorded seven touchdowns and seven interceptions, leading the team to a 5-3 record during his starts.
