Rutgers coach Greg Schiano latest to praise Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola

The Rutgers coach — like the five Husker opponents before him — expounded the most on the true freshman quarterback.

Dylan Raiola is “incredibly talented,” said the man who coached Josh Freeman with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012 and later coordinated Ohio State defenses against Dwayne Haskins, who was a first-round NFL draft pick in 2019. Rutgers might scheme the 19-year-old like a rookie if it hadn’t seen what he’s done so far.

The QB is big, mobile and can throw from everywhere — “there’s not much this can’t guy can’t do,” Schiano said. Game tape shows the former five-star prospect has obvious command of the offense through his first five college appearances.

“He does not look phased by disguised coverages, he gets hit and he pops up and is fine,” Schiano said Monday. “I think this guy is mature beyond his years. He’s grown up in a football family. I think he’s kind of made to do this.”

Raiola’s targets will also be challenges for a Scarlet Knight defense in the top 20 nationally in big-play prevention and passing yards allowed per attempt. Schiano listed NU receivers Jahmal Banks and Isaiah Neyor — both 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds — and 6-2, 220-pound Janiran Bonner as “gigantic,” noting the flurry of pass-interference penalties they’ve drawn.

The Nebraska defense, meanwhile, is “one of the better ones in America,” he said. The group understands what it’s doing and does it together.

“To say our plate is full would be an understatement,” Schiano said. “But that’s the Big Ten — it’s why I love it.”

Rutgers, at 4-0, has white-knuckled consecutive wins over Virginia Tech and Washington by three points apiece. Red zone defense has been good — the unit is allowing touchdowns on 36.36% of opponent chances, tied for ninth and best in the Big Ten.

Stops in other areas of the field are less consistent, with shaky tackling contributing to allowing 5.87 yards per play that barely ranks inside the top 100. Only three FBS teams have fewer tackles for loss than their 14.

“It’s certainly a concern,” Schiano said. “You’re not going win consistently playing defense that way.”

On the same day, Nebraska coach Matt Rhule expressed his respect for Schiano, the sentiment was reciprocated 1,300 miles to the east in New Jersey. Schiano and Rhule — both East Coast natives — were at Penn State together in 1994 and 1995 when the former was a defensive backs coach and the latter a walk-on linebacker.

Schiano also acknowledged Rhule moving Nebraska to the west sidelines at Memorial Stadium, meaning the Scarlet Knights will have the sun “beating on us” from the east side on a hot Saturday afternoon.

“Known Matt for a long, long time and he does a great job,” Schiano said. “He’s certainly got that thing going in the right direction and now it’s being seen in the record.”