Former Chandler QB Dylan Raiola named Nebraska starter

Dylan Raiola’s football high school career took him from Texas to Arizona to Georgia and now to Nebraska, where he has been named the Cornhuskers’ starting quarterback for their Aug. 31 season opener against UTEP.

Raiola’s father, Dominic, was an All-American center at Nebraska in 2000 and had his jersey No. 54 retired.

When Raiola came to Chandler High two years ago from Texas, recruiting services rated him the No. 1 high school quarterback in the nation in the 2024 class. In his junior season, he led the Chandler Wolves to the 2022 Open semifinals before transferring to Phoenix Pinnacle.

He didn’t play a down at Pinnacle after realizing he may have to sit five games to open his senior season due to the Arizona Interscholastic Association transfer rules.

Last summer, he and his family moved to Buford, Georgia, where he played a full season at Buford High. He was initially committed to Georgia after committing to Ohio State before his junior season. However, he decommitted from Georgia during his senior year and committed to Nebraska.

With Jeff Sims leaving Nebraska and later transferring to Arizona State, Raiola won the quarterback competition in Lincoln, where he’s been taking reps since the spring as an early enrollee.

Raiola was the No. 3-ranked quarterback and 11th overall in the 2024 ESPN 300. He was early-enrolled at Nebraska, where he competed for QB1 against junior Heinrich Haarberg and true freshman Daniel Kaelin.

Raiola’s uncle is Nebraska offensive line coach Donovan Raiola.

Raiola, 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, passed for almost 8,500 yards and 88 TDs in his high school career. In Nebraska’s spring game, he was 16 of 22 passing for 239 yards and two TDs.

He starred at Burleson High in Texas during his sophomore season, throwing for 3,341 yards and 42 TDs, before moving back to Arizona with his family, where he played youth football. During his junior season at Chandler in 2022, he passed for 2,435 yards and 22 TDs before that season ended in an Open Division semifinal loss to eventual champion Chandler Basha.

Former Gilbert Perry quarterback Chubba Purdy, the brother of San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy, played at Nebraska for the last two years. His playing time was limited, splitting time with Sims and Haarberg last year when the Huskers ranked last in the Big Ten in passing yards (1,631). Chubba Purdy, who began his college career at Florida State, transferred to Nevada.

Richard Obert has been covering high school sports since the 1980s for The Arizona Republic. He also covers Grand Canyon University athletics and the Arizona Rattlers. To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Former Chandler QB Dylan Raiola named Nebraska Cornhuskers starter