Going from being compared to Patrick Mahomes to being called “washed up” is quite the fall. Just copying the hairstyle isn’t gonna cut it for you, kiddo. See, Dylan Raiola has a lot of expectations on his shoulders. At least he had. Back in October, Brady Quinn made it clear that Dylan Raiola, being a true freshman on that turf, automatically brings in doubtful eyes. You gotta prove your worth, and up to a certain extent, Dylan Raiola did. Huskers went on a 3-win streak at the start of the season and Raiola was all up in the news. He was so confident playing from the pocket that it didn’t even feel like he was a freshman.

Now? Yeah, things are a lot different. Matt Rhule and his pride are now at the bottom of the barrel, barely scratching at grabbing Bowl eligibility, and this brings us to what future awaits Raiola in Nebraska. On 937 The Ticket, the host mentioned, “If we just make it to a bowl, he gonna feel proud and he out.” Kind of drastic, right? But there is an explanation. If Rhule and Huskers were on a proper winning run with maybe at least 7-8 wins, Raiola would’ve stuck with the team. With the spot it is in right now and even a Bowl game eligibility looking bleak, Raiola ain’t gonna stick around.

“To me, he wants to be playing in championships, he wants to be on that stage,” the host clears. Again, this brings up a whole different set of conversations. If Raiola does want to make it big and play at the championships or something, then how do you explain this fall-off?

See, it is understandable that this guy is a true freshman, and going up against the seniors and more experienced players is going to have a negative effect, but consistently performing horrendously in 4 back-to-back games and having as many interceptions as touchdowns is not good.

But there is another side to this story. While Raiola is struggling to maintain his footing, the entire fall from grace has given the Huskers fans some doubts. Sometimes, you perform badly, and that is alright. However, the entire change in the way he makes throws or plays from the pocket points toward a different issue.

Is Dylan Raiola injured?

Reports aren’t clear, but that won’t stop Reddit from springing up some amazing points. Back on the Huskers subreddit, a user was quick to point out that the way Raiola has been playing lately, it kind of points toward a shoulder injury or something.

“We all see the lack of confidence in the pocket, lack of decision making with downfield throws, almost inexplicable loss of arm strength & accuracy,” the user mentioned. This added to the fact that for some wild reason, Rhule always plays Raiola despite the problems, leading to the conclusion that the staff have no idea what they are even doing.

In some way, Raiola is going through a lot of pressure. Losing his accuracy and the entire confidence he had on the gridiron should’ve been more than enough for Rhule to just sideline this dude for a while and use someone else as the QB. Hubris can be deadly.