Well, how do you know that the ground under a head coach is too shaky? When they get extra-cautious. The narrative goes well with the Nebraska Cornhuskers HC Matt Rhule. The HC has stayed away from taking any risks and has cancelled the spring practice in fear of poaching. But can Rhule be blamed? After all, he has seen enough in 2024. The Nebraska Cornhuskers wrapped up the last season with a 7-6 overall record. One of their biggest ‘Ouch’ moments was their QB Dylan Raiola losing all glamor.

After all, the QB came off as a threat, pulling off a Patrick Mahomes look. But Rhule’s Raiola plan turned out to be a BIG FLOP. Now, as the Huskers are ready to count on their QB as their saviour this season, a national analyst dropped a truth bomb. Will Rhule be able to take it as he is already charting through choppy waters this spring? 

The bitter truth for Matt Rhule’s quarterback 

Do you remember that day from Huskers’ training camp in Omaha? It made everyone present at the camp go like, “What’s Mahomes doing here?” At first glance, it actually felt like Mahomes paid a visit. However, it soon became clear. Kudos to Raiola for pulling off the perfect doppelganger look. Oakley ski glasses, an Adidas T-shirt, and shorts paired with a couple of chains that are the signature of the 3x Super Bowl champion. And how could we forget the broccoli hair? This was enough of a threat for other QBs like Shedeur Sanders. However, in the end, Raiola’s Mahomes fever was only limited to his looks. 

In his debut against UTEP, Raiola completed 19 of 27 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns in less than three quarters of action. But if we take an overall look at Raiola’s 2024 chapter, the sack stats are definitely concerning. Rhule’s QB got sacked 27 times. On April 2, Andy Staples and Arri Wasserman discussed the QB on the On3 podcast. Staples started off with, “Dylan Riola is an exciting young player.” Wasserman topped it up with, “He looks, acts, talks, and behaves like Patrick Mahomes.” That’s when Staples landed a reality check: “Just doesn’t play like him.” Now, this season, the universe has different plans, as Rhule had some costly losses.

They lost their sophomore wideout, Jaylen Lloyd, Isaiah Neyor, and Malachi Coleman. This is going to expose Raiola to more threats. So, the analyst believes that if he plays like former Michigan State Spartans QB Kirk Cousins, that’d be pretty good. Staples addressed the main issue in the QB’s gameplay. “There is a aspect of his game that scares the crap out of me in terms of his long-term development which is inability to operate under pressure.” In that case, Rhule’s QB will have to watch the Kansas City Chiefs’ star’s tape as the gospel truth.  

So what’s Wasserman’s piece of advice? “The number one thing that Patrick Mahomes does that really is incredible and if you watch the Chiefs play is the way he extends plays runs around in circles. And either gets a first down with his legs or always finds somebody who’s open.” This is going to be important as the QB often fumbles when exposed to a pressing situation. As the analyst stated, “I think Dylan Raiola is cooked if he’s got two people in his face.” While Rhule is expected to take his QB out of the mess, he has to fix something else. 

Nebraska HC’s misfortunes in 2025

Yes, locking the doors for the spring practice did not keep the bad juju away. That’s because the injury Gods thought of pouring over some extra blessings for Rhule’s squad. Some are yet to get a fitness approval, as they are still in the process of recovery since last season. For instance, Nebraska football transfer tight end Mac Markway is coming off an ACL injury. He suffered during his third practice with the team.

Then came Carter Nelson, who had to undergo hip surgery this off-season. The recovery process will keep him away from the gridiron till late summer. Now, these two names were expected in Rhule’s list of injury updates. But there are also some unexpected ones. Analyst Wilson Dittman gave a rundown of the Huskers’ roster, which was plagued with injuries. “Jamir Khan, who was reported to be injured by Matt Rhule, I got some clarity on what his injury was. I saw him at the Pro Day, and his left arm was in a sling, so either just an arm injury or shoulder injury, something like that, but Khan was out for all the spring ball with a left arm shoulder injury.”

The defensive lineman Gabe Moore redshirted in 2023 and missed the 2024 season with an injury. And now it looks like the athlete was blessed with yet another injury. “Gabe Moore, that was a new injury. He is out at least for the first week of spring ball, and he did not practice at all this week. He was you in the yellow jersey.” There are two more of Matt Rhule’s key players who went missing during the practice- Maverick Noonan and John Hall. Can the Huskers turn their 2024 scare tactics into reality?