Football

True freshman QB Dylan Raiola playing 'for God' as he leads Nebraska to 2-0 start

By Joshua Doering Sep 11, 2024
Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola throws the ball against Colorado on Sept. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz)

The first thing Dominic Raiola did when he found his son, Dylan, after Nebraska’s 28-10 win over Colorado on Saturday was remind him that the Raiola family is still undefeated against the rival Buffaloes. Those familial ties are central to explaining why Dylan, the top quarterback recruit in the Class of 2024, chose to play for a program that hasn’t had a winning record since 2016.

His dad is a Cornhusker legend, and his uncle, Donovan, is the team’s offensive line coach. Even so, it was far from certain that Dylan would follow in his father’s footsteps. He was originally committed to Ohio State and then flipped to Georgia.

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It wasn’t until this past December that Dylan revealed to his parents he was still thinking about Nebraska. Soon after, he committed to the Cornhuskers and coach Matt Rhule.

“It didn’t feel real at the time, if I’m being honest,” Dylan told 247 Sports. “To be able to sit there and tell [Rhule] I want to be part of this and I believe in what he’s doing — it got emotional with my mom, dad, brother, my uncle was in there as well. You can tell it’s the perfect fit. It happened at the right time, and God’s time is perfect.”

Two games into his true freshman season, Raiola has the Cornhuskers off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2016 and is drawing comparisons to Patrick Mahomes. Raiola completed 23 of his 30 passes for 185 yards and a touchdown against Colorado, engineering three touchdown drives as Nebraska scored the game’s first 28 points.

“I think our team, we knew what we had,” he said after the game. “Just a lot of other people didn’t know what we had. That’s the best part about us believing, [keeping] everything in-house and keeping outside noise outside.”

Raiola’s faith in God has been a foundational part of his journey. Listed first in his Instagram bio is “Colossians 3:23,” a Bible verse that reads, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,” and “AO1,” which stands for audience of One.

Dominic recently told ESPN that Dylan felt God calling him to Nebraska to help rebuild the program instead of going to a national-title favorite.

“I’ll tell you what changed in his heart,” Dominic said. “He knew he had a different kind of talent. He told us: ‘God has bigger plans for me than just going to Georgia and being the next five-star and being in line to win the national title. God has different plans for me.’ And those plans were to go to Nebraska and do something hard.”

Nebraska’s Week 2 victory earned the Cornhuskers the No. 23 spot in Monday’s Associated Press college football poll. It is the first time in five years the team has been ranked.

With the hype and excitement building, Dylan’s faith is helping keep him grounded. His focus is on bringing glory to the Lord, not stats or awards or wins.

“The reason why I play this game, first of all, is I play for God,” he said in 2022. “My religion is first in everything I do. Without God, I wouldn’t be able to do anything I do now. He’s gifted me with talents and abilities. I think if I don’t use them in the correct way, that’s not honoring God. That’s my first and foremost ‘why.’”

Those comments came a few months after Raiola chose to get baptized in October 2021, saying that making Jesus his Lord and Savior was the “best decision of my life.”

Raiola and Nebraska host Northern Iowa in their final non-conference game Saturday before beginning Big Ten play. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. ET, and the game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.

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