Dylan Raiola refuses money to prove his iron firm loyalty to the Nebraska Cornhuskers. To everyone’s relief, he’s not going anywhere. But that has never been really such a concern. The concern is, can an OL shortage team protect him and chisel the best out of it? Matt Rhule and the boys have eaten up 28 sacks this year. Trouble upon trouble? The loss over 180 yards on it. Rhule has a solid lineup in the interior, but they were focused on safeguarding the sacked QBs and not protecting the remaining ones. So, Rhule and Raiola were really in extreme need of a quick offensive line fix.

After a patient pause, they finally seem to find out their man of the hour. Dylan Raiola issued a two-word taunt to Alabama’s head coach after the Huskers managed to flip their star tackle.

Dylan Raiola scorns Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer amidst the huge recruiting success

Elija Pritchett, a 6-foot-6 and 327-pounder, brought his heart, soul, and mammoth athletic legs to Nebraska from the transfer portal on Wednesday. The kid had three off-the-chart seasons with the Tide. Pritchett suited up for a total of 13 games. Head coach DeBoer primarily used him at right tackle. That being said, his 2024 season was far from satisfactory, and that may justify the move to hit the portal.

The main issue with Pritchett? Well, pass-blocking. He allowed 31 pressures and six sacks. No wonder Jalen Milroe was fighting for his life in some of the games this season. Having said that, Pritchett did come up against some quality SEC defense, especially Tennessee and Georgia. What’s Matt Rhule looking for in Elija? Some consistency. More than that, a body to replace Bryce Benhart.

As per Tim Verghese, football writer at NebraskaRivals. The main issue with Pritchett was his technique. He was either over-setting or under-setting, and the quality edge rusher will poke into the holes created by those technical deficiencies. However, “There’s a reason he was on the field all 12 games this year, even with those inconsistencies,” Varghese pointed out. That is because of his efficiency in the run game- a large body that can move aside the D-line. And we saw how Milroe utilized that in some games where he ran the opponents out of the field.

Nobody seems happier than the Huskers’ QB phenom, Dylan Raiola. But he had a passive message for Kalen DeBoer. After the news broke out, Raiola posted the official news on his IG story with a cryptic ‘Uhhh Ohhhh‘ caption.

Raiola has had a remarkable season under his belt. Although he had his fair share of slumps like every other athlete does, it, in no way, invalidates their glory, the numbers. As the latest report spilled, Raiola has given up on a massive 12 million offer. He chooses to stay. The first offensive line signee of the 2025 class can be a shield to Raiola and his superior plays.

Dylan Raiola faced a slump due to the offensive recruit scarce

The Huskers’ O-line issues started early in the season and then dragged along. As things move forward, the offense took a backward step, to a point where Matt Rhule had to fire his OC.

”You have some problems here again. You lost a couple of seniors. You have Teddy Prochazka, you know, at that right Tackle spot, who’s never stayed healthy in his entire career. He’s had four season-ending injuries at this point. You have Turner Corcoran at that left guard spot who’s really been a disappointment going into his sixth season. You have a lot of younger players there, and then you look at the depth for Nebraska on this offensive line, unproven guy after unproven guy,” analyst Will Dittman called out the program for their casual approach to the offense.

Dylan Raiola capped off 2024 with 2,823 yards on 276-of-411 (67.2%) passing with 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Although a lackluster collective season remains one of the reasons behind Raiola’s limitations, the young QB did his part.

Now, DeBoer can use Raiola more as they get the safety net. Prticheet, the brand new kid in the house, is looking to adjust his shoes in the new home and possibly improve his plays even more. Last but not least, Rhule deserves a pat on the back for the excellent job he’s doing.