Dylan Raiola adjusts to role as Oregon backup QB: 'Got to humble yourself'
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Oregon quarterback Dylan Raiola is experiencing a first as a college athlete during spring camp with the Ducks — operating as a clear-cut backup.
Raiola transferred to Oregon after the 2025 season and will sit behind returning starter Dante Moore, although he’s coming off two straight seasons as the starter at Nebraska. The five-star prospect will likely redshirt in 2026 before taking over as Oregon’s starter in 2027.
Raiola explained his decision to reporters after a spring practice on April 15.
“You got to humble yourself,” he said. “I’d be lying if I said it didn’t take a couple practices just to kind of get used to it. At the same time, it’s all learning and it’s all trying to eventually achieve the goal of mine and obviously of (Moore’s) right now, and that’s all our whole room’s goal is to get (Moore) to where he wants to go and it’s a great person to learn from.”
It was an interesting decision for Raiola to pass up likely opportunities as a starter to sit behind Moore at Oregon. The 6-3 signal caller passed for 2,000 yards with 18 touchdowns to six interceptions while completing 72.4% of his passes last season, although his campaign ended prematurely after breaking his leg against USC on Nov. 1.
Raiola is also a Huskers legacy, as his uncle Donovan Raiola, was the offensive line coach at Nebraska until he was fired in December, and his father, Dominic Raiola, was an All-American offensive lineman at Nebraska from 1997-2000 before a long NFL career.
He feels the change will benefit his career in the long run, though.
“I’m very grateful for the time I had in Nebraska,” Raiola said. “I’m very grateful for the coaches, the people, and the fans, and everyone I came across, too. But like you said, you can’t emulate game-speed reps. And I think there’s a lot of instances of things that I could have did better to kind of have propel our team to win.
“But, use all those experiences for learning and propel not only myself, but this team forward. And however I can present ideas to help (Moore), or whoever in the room. I’m going to do my best to be the best teammate that I can be.”
Raiola is taking a humble approach to 2026, where Oregon has huge expectations after reaching the College Football Playoff semifinals last season.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What Dylan Raiola said about leaving Nebraska, being Oregon backup QB
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