THE 24 HOUR RULE: Dylan Raiola – Team Above Everything

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“I hate it for Dylan. I love Dylan. You know, if anyone says anything about Dylan, just know this, the kid had a broken leg, and he was warming up and begging me to play. That’s all you gotta know about that kid and who he is…And I’m very grateful for him.” – Nebraska Head Coach Matt Rhule on Monday

When Matt Rhule took the podium for his weekly press conference Monday, there was little doubt what and who the primary topic of conversation would be, and, as his modus operandi, Coach Rhule waded head first into it. And while tears didn’t flow, the emotional impact of forging ahead without their team’s sophomore leader was written on his face. It wasn’t all negative – Rhule was thrilled about the defense’s performance as well the fans on the Blackout night game, pointing out how recruits said they had never seen anything like it.

But with Dylan Raiola out for the season, Rhule took time to point out just what he has meant to a program which had been flailing for the previous decade including a 5-7 record in Rhule’s initial season. His recruitment was a bit of a circus from the get-go as he appeared to be leaning toward Nebraska initially, but then committed to Ohio St. not long after the Scott Frost home visit debacle.

However, Rhule got the Huskers back in the hunt and excitement spiked when Raiola headlined a spring visit to Lincoln with one of their highest-ranked group of recruits ever in for a weekend, a group he spent time recruiting. But then he verbally committed to Georgia, who had their own inside guy in Matt Stafford, a good friend and former teammate of Dylan’s father Dominic.

But as the December signing day neared, he realized his heart was still with the Huskers and a last minute flip found him where he wanted to be all along – the journey is not always a straight line to the destination. As Rhule said, “When Dylan decided to come here, he legitimized coming to Nebraska up on the national recruiting scene, and that’s allowed us to get other big time players.”

He immediately won the starting job in the spring, when his performance in what would be the last true spring game, showed everyone his skills were on another level entirely from the rest of the QB roster. He led the Huskers to their first winning record and bowl game in eight years, but as Rhule pointed out, it wasn’t always a smooth road saying, “He played as a freshman, which is, you have all the accolades and you take all the arrows.”

And the arrows came, although the worst seem to come from lonely people who took umbrage at his haircut (one he’d had since middle school) and an affinity for Pat Mahomes characteristics, one which Mahomes made apparent he has n0 problem with.

While happy to have broken the post-season wall, Raiola committed to improving in 2025 (Rhule: “He came in this year, he was better, he was in better shape. He’s grown as a leader.”) and found himself ranked with the conference’s and nation’s top QB’s when the injury struck. And when it did, Rhule talked about finding out it was worse than originally feared.

“I got home that night. I didn’t know when – and when I was sitting here with you guys, I thought he had an ankle sprain. I got home, and literally, my daughter was the first person to tell me, because I go one way, and my daughters were walking by and they found out as he (Dylan) found out in the training room. And then the doctor called me to tell me.”

The worst was soon confirmed. Not only was the fibula broken, but it would require surgery as well, one he will receive in New York this week. Or as Rhule put it, “It’s not like a ‘battle your way through it’ type of deal.“

If anyone can find the positive in this situation, it’s Matt Rhule who sees this as a chance for Dylan, already known as a student of the game who tries to memorize every responsibility of each offensive player in order to be able to answer any and all questions in the huddle, to take an even deeper dive into the intricacies of the offense.

“As miserable as this is going to be for him, this is a really good time for him as well. He’s gonna have a chance, for once, to sit there and watch. I think that’s really valuable when you don’t have the pressure of playing. You can sit there and watch and learn.”

Offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen agrees wholeheartedly:

“He’s not gonna be there on Saturday – (that’s) Glen’s (QB Coach Glen Thomas) job, but from Dylan’s perspective, I just think it’ll help the game slow down even more. Next year, and I know it’s disappointing to him, but he’ll be better because of it.”

And Rhule also added that he wouldn’t be just be sitting around: “I know he’ll be involved in game planning and ideas, and he’ll rally around TJ.”

Holgorsen confirmed how active Raiola already is the next day offering, “I’ll say this, he was in a meeting this morning, asking questions and taking notes. He was out there at practice and talking to TJ in between every series. I mean, that’s, that’s incredible, you know?”

“You know, I got a text from TJ’s dad saying..you know, hey.. on behalf of our family, please let Dylan know how we…how much we care about him. (And then) I got a text from Dylan, saying please (let me) go travel for TJ.” – Matt Rhule

If there’s a sure-fire way of knowing how the starter is treating the back-up, how the back-up describes him when talking to his parents would have to be way up there. And their text to Coach Rhule sort of says it all.

As for Dylan’s text, he had planned on being on sideline in the Rose Bowl supporting T.J. and when told he wouldn’t be able to make trip, he immediately tried to jump the queue and pull rank with the head coach to be there. Rhule told him no, but completely understood the sentiment as Dylan cares about team above all else.

And the feeling is mutual.

“And then…he’s just such a great teammate. If you watched it, after he got hurt, every single player on our team I think, went up to Dylan and hugged him and said, ‘Hey, we got you.’ And no one knew what it (the injury) was having started with an ankle. So I think when you have a player that gets that much notoriety, and he’s as humble and as ‘Team, Team, Team’ as Dylan is, it sets the tone for everybody.”

Count Jacory Barney as one of those teammates who believes this won’t keep Raiola down, saying “Man, that’s my boy. I feel bad for what happened to him, but I feel like he’s gonna come back stronger, and we’re gonna have an even better season next year.”

But Barney, as well as Dylan and the rest of the squad, are letting everyone know they aren’t done with this season yet as they rally around Lateef with Raiola’s help:

“Him (Lateef) being able to learn from a quarterback like Dylan, and knowing that Dylan is going prep him before the game, talk to him, and make sure he’s right mentally before the game – he’s gonna go in with the most confidence.”

Rhule has the team dialed in on the mantra that everyone needs to ramp up their game and just play just a little bit better in order to give Lateef the best chance to succeed.

Count quarterback coach Dylan Raiola in on that for the last four games.

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