Football runs deep in the Raiola family! While the Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola—who’s the son of former Cornhuskers and Detriot Lions player Dominic Raiola, and one of the highest-ranked recruits the Huskers have ever landed—started his college football career on a high, there’s new star in the family who can give the 19-year-old a run for his money. Well, it’s not us saying it but the QB himself. But before we get to the meat of the story…

For the unversed: Dominic Raiola is a former Nebraska center who was a redshirt freshman on the 1997 national championship team. In 2000, he won the Rimington Trophy as the nation’s top center. Subsequently, his No. 54 jersey was retired by the school. So, it’s understandable that the Raiola brothers will have a lot of responsibility on their shoulders, which both seem equipped to carry at the moment.

Dylan’s younger brother, Dayton, has also pledged his allegiance to Nebraska as part of the 2026 recruiting class. At 5-foot-11, 215 pounds, the high school junior replaced his brother as QB at Georgia’s Buford High School, and has led the Buford Wolves to a 4-1 start this fall. “THE LEGACY CONTINUES #OHANA #COMMITTED,” the high school wrote in his announcement last month, heightening interest in the youngster’s abilities. And if we are to go with his brother’s opinion, the youngest Raiola, who’s left-handed unlike his brother, will be a promising addition to the Huskers…

On November 8, Dylan took to his Instagram story to share a snap of his younger brother. “Lil bro been ballin. He different,” he wrote giving the world a preview of what is to come. Playing for Buford, this guy has already managed to collect quite the stats. 1121 yards under his belt with 12 TD passes and a completion rate of 70%. 247Sports has already marked this kid as the 634-ranked QB in the entire nation for the 2026 class.

Interestingly, the whole Raiola family seems to have a close tie with Nebraska, which Dayton revealed in a conversation with HuskerMax, while discussing his commitment. “I feel like I would be making a mistake if I didn’t go to Nebraska. On top of my brother and uncle being there, my sister works in recruiting there now, and my dad was an All-American there. The coaching staff at Nebraska really has shown me real love and I can feel it every time I go up there.

Dominic Raiola’s brother Donovan has been Nebraska’s offensive line coach for the past three seasons, after a four-year stint with the Chicago Bears. Dayton’s older sister Taylor is a graduate manager in Nebraska’s recruiting department.

“It is super important to me that I get to join my brother and uncle. There will be lifelong memories that I will remember forever. I mean how many times does somebody get to play with their brother on the same team, yet alone I get to do it twice?” he said. And for anyone doubtful that he might pull a stunt akin to his brother: “I am 100% locked in and committed to Big Red Nation, no questions asked,” Dayton further said.

Notably, Dylan was initially committed to the Georgia Bulldogs before he flipped his decision. And as per the budding star, his father has got to a lot with that choice. Appearing on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast in April this year, he said, “I wanted to do something different. I think it’s normal for the five-star guys to go to Alabama, Georgia, Clemson — which they can do all that. But I think having the legacy my dad left here. Name’s in the stadium, so much history in this place. I was like, ‘Lincoln, Nebraska is a special place.’ They just need to have winners in the program and go make it happen.”

Going on the turf as a true freshman, the Huskers QB has quickly made a name for himself after three massive wins against UTEP (40-7), Buffs (28-10), and Northern Iowa (34-3). These weren’t small wins as well. Huskers averaged 30+ points in every game, and Dylan Raiola, with his presence from the pocket, quickly became the new talk of the town. The QB has 10 touchdown passes and eight interceptions so far this season, accompanied by a 64.7% pass completion rate for 1,921 yards. However, in the last four games, his performance has taken a slight hit, with one touchdown and six interceptions.

The decline in performance is very clear, but is it only happening because Raiola is still new and is facing much more experienced players? This guy stood his ground against a roster like the Buffs. So what is even happening?

Dylan Raiola’s dip in form concerns fans, but Matt Rhule is hopeful

On November 4, the r/Huskers subreddit brought up an interesting discussion surrounding Dylan and his degrading performance. “The decline in his play is clear. We all see the lack of confidence in the pocket, lack of decision making with downfield throws, almost inexplicable loss of arm strength & accuracy (on deep throws especially). I think he’s hurt but the staff collectively thinks his 75% is still better than Haarberg,” was the main theory the Redditor brought up.

And what do you know? In the game against UCLA (a 27-20 loss) on November 2, the QB suffered a back injury late in the fourth quarter and did not return to the game. He tried to reenter two plays later before exiting the field again. Talking about the incident, the player later remarked, “Got hit in the wrong spot. I’ll come in tomorrow and get checked out and probably get screened. I thought I could fight through it. I went out there and I guess it kind of locked up on me.

However, this is not the first storm he’s had to weather…After a promising start to the season, the team has sit an unfortunate slump as they sit with three consecutive losses, and a 5-4 record. In the game against UCLA, he also threw a costly pick-six on the first play in the second half. But Huskers head coach Matt Rhule is still hopeful, as he stated, “When you play early, everything’s not going to be a sunny day. You learn how to handle all the different things that you see, and you have tough moments, and you overcome them. So I think this is unbelievable, invaluable experience for Dylan. When it’s good, it’s good. And there’s been some tough moments, right? It’s like, you throw the pick-six [against UCLA], but he doesn’t quit. He goes back out and brings us back into the game.”

“This is the Big Ten. This is a whole new world, a whole different league…And every week, you have to be at your best. We haven’t been consistent enough. But I think for a young freshman quarterback, this is on the job training. This is on the job learning…while it’s frustrating right now, if he weathers the storm, he’ll have so much experience. And as things get better, he’ll be a unique player,” the HC further said.

Well, we’re surely hoping that happens. Do you think Dylan Raiola will be able to turn his fortunes around? Let us know in the comments below!