Two-year-old Dylan Raiola took a brief pause from jumping on the couch and glanced at the television.
Sunday Night Football is on. The New England Patriots are playing. Their opponent is irrelevant to this story.
Little Dylan recognized the face shown on the screen — surprising his uncle, Donovan Raiola, and everyone within earshot.
“Tom Brady!” Dylan shouted.
“I was like, ‘What?’ It was kind of unique,” Donovan said with a smile earlier this month. “I was like, ‘Wait, hold on. That’s crazy. How do you know who Tom Brady is?’ But that was pretty cool.”
Donovan, Nebraska’s offensive line coach, laughs when retelling the story now. So much has changed in the 17 years since then, but for him, it’s the moment he points to when speaking about his nephew.
People are also reading…
That’s when he knew Dylan might have what it takes. At 2 years old. Not when he was in seventh grade or as a sophomore. No, to Donovan, the successes Dylan had along the way were simply affirming what he believed could be true in 2007.
The lineage helps. Dylan’s the son of an All-American offensive lineman — one special enough to have his name on Memorial Stadium’s North End Zone wall and talented enough to have a 14-year career in the NFL.
But, Dylan’s his own man, too.
He plays a different position than his father. He plays a different position than his uncle. He plays in a different era — after the advent of Name, Image and Likeness and one full of distractions with the deluge of social media.
People around the world know his name. And they’ve known it for years, thanks to his viral arm talent charted a course toward becoming the best quarterback prospect in the 2024 class.
How does he handle the spotlight? The constant attention?
He’s not spending much time on social media these days. That helps. He credits his parents, Dominic and Yvonne, for raising him correctly and teaching him how to act. He points to having not just his uncle on campus, but his sister, Taylor, too. His faith keeps him grounded. He spends the first part of every morning in devotion.
“It just sets your day off right,” Dylan said.
The moment went by in a flash.
It’s a Wednesday morning. Nebraska’s practice had just wrapped. Dylan Raiola is walking off the field before Rhule heads him off.
“‘Hey, you’re our starting quarterback. Congratulations,’” Raiola recalled Rhule saying.
That was it. Nothing more. Nothing less. Simple, just like the social media announcement itself.
While the delivery of the message was simple, its meaning? Far from it.
“It was emotional, honestly,” Raiola said.
He called his mom. He called his dad. He called his sister. He called his brother, Dayton.
“Very, very thankful for them, and I wouldn’t be here without them,” Raiola said. “… I made sure I called them and let them know I appreciate them very much.”
His elite arm strength. His elite arm strength. His knowledge of the run-game checks. His understanding of Nebraska’s RPO game. His understanding of situational football. His ability to extend plays. His ability to work off-script. His progress with his footwork in the pocket. His maturity, despite only being 19. His work ethic. His steadiness. His composure.
It’s the waning moments of Nebraska’s “Big Red Preview” practice — the open session held as a fundraiser for Nebraska’s NIL Collective, 1890, back in early August.
The red-clad defense sprints from sideline to sideline, thanks to failed efforts from Nash Hutmacher, Jimari Butler and defensive line coach Terrance Knighton at catching punts.
But amid the Sea of Red, a speck of green.
In his green non-contact jersey and black pants, Raiola ran alongside the defensive players. Even though he didn’t have to. He was the only offensive player who did.
“We’re a team,” he told the Journal Star.
He didn’t broadcast it. If he hadn’t been wearing green, it’s doubtful anyone would have noticed.
“He’s done a good job so far of always humbly working,” Rhule said this week. “He texted me every night last week, ‘May I please be late to curfew?’ He’d send a picture and he’s still in the building.”
Humbly working. Silently working.
Last to leave. First to arrive.
A recent example of that? Rhule arrived at Nebraska’s facility at 6 a.m. Monday to get his “old man workout” in. But he’s not alone. The music is blaring in the cardio room.
Raiola understands that to get to where he wants to be, he has to put in the work.
“I remind him, when you’re the quarterback at the University of Nebraska, you better be ready to ride the highs and lows,” Rhule said. “And your life better not be what other people think about you. It better not be that. I think he and his family have instilled that in him. And he’s a good teammate. He does what he can with the fellas to help get them ready as well.”
Raiola is quick to point to that. He knows he — as just the second true freshman quarterback in Nebraska football history to start a season opener — is the face of the offense, the face of the team. But he wants to lift the others, too.
In his first availability after being officially named the starter, he credited fellow quarterbacks Danny Kaelin and Heinrich Haarberg for pushing him to be better.
“It was a fun competition,” Raiola said. “I still love Danny. Still love Heinrich. They pushed me every day, so I can’t thank them enough for what they did and helped me be where I am as well.”
In that same availability, when asked about himself, Raiola said, “It’s about our team — I don’t want to make it about me or what I did. I can’t win the game by myself. It’s going to take all 11 (players) on both sides of the ball.”
Recent Nebraska football history is bleak.
Seven straight losing seasons with no bowl game since 2016.
Many of those losses? Painful.
Five losses last season by single digits — four of which came in the last four games of the year. The year before? Five single-digit losses. The year before that? Nine single-digit losses.
But this offense has been revamped. Co-offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield is now over the tight ends while running mate Glenn Thomas is overseeing quarterbacks. There’s the transfer talent at receiver, too. Then there’s Raiola.
The expectations are high. Nebraska received votes in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll for the first time in years — with one voter putting the Huskers as high as high as No. 14.
While Raiola is shutting it out — “I don’t really pay attention to expectations,” he said in early August — he’s also aware of the potential this team could have.
For him and these Huskers, that all begins Saturday afternoon against UTEP.
“Buckle up,” he said. “It’s going to be a fun ride.”
You must be logged in to post a comment Login