Dylan Raiola’s freshman season was a mixed affair. Started hot, struggled in the middle, and finished fine! Not great, just fine! In doing all that, the QB1 still led the Huskers to a bowl finish, the first for the program since 2016. For head coach Matt Rhule, who was in his 2nd year, the 7-6 record meant that he could tell the decision-makers that there had been improvement. However, the fine details about their 2024 season would also reveal how the HC had to demote his offensive coordinator and hire Dana Holgorsen to get some offensive output when their bowl appearance was in jeopardy.
Naturally, going into the 2025 season, there is a mountain of expectations surrounding Raiola. How far can they go in a conference where Ohio State, Penn State, and Oregon are likely to finish at the top? Then, you have teams like Illinois, Indiana, and even Michigan. Can their 7-6 become a 9-4? CFB analyst Josh Pate placed the QB in the sixth position in his preseason rankings of Big Ten quarterbacks for the 2025 season. If we look at it from Nebraska’s perspective, Rhule will be brimming with happiness.
But it’s not just Pate’s rankings that would have made the Huskers or Rhule ecstatic. Former Huskers QB Tommy Armstrong placed his bets on Raiola for the upcoming season. Armstrong has always worn his heart on his sleeve when it comes to the Huskers. He has carried the expectations, lived with the pressure, and enjoyed every moment of the game. In three years, he played 45 games, threw for 8,871 yards, 67 touchdowns, and 44 interceptions, and ran for 1,819 yards and 24 touchdowns. When he speaks, the fans listen.
“I think he’s doing pretty well, you know. I try to keep up as much as I can with the Huskers. For his first year, he did what was expected. He had some growing pains here and there, but he’s doing a great job, not only for himself but also to get guys around him as playmakers and calling the right people. Definitely with NIL being how it is now, you got to put people around you. I think he’s done a great job of putting the team in the right situation to be successful,” Armstrong said about Raiola.
As a freshman, Dylan Raiola won the ‘Big Ten Freshman of the Week’ award, which speaks volumes about his performance. What did he do right? Against UTEP, he went 19-of-27 for 238 yards and two touchdowns, which was his first game of the season.
From one QB to another! Former Husker Tommy Armstrong Jr. is liking what he sees from Dylan Raiola. pic.twitter.com/dwNrCObpg9
— Hail Varsity (@HailVarsity) June 20, 2025
The former QB continued, “I think this upcoming season is going to be a really good season for him, because he looks more fit, more ready to play. I think last year was just a learning curve for him, just because he’s coming from being a senior in high school to being a true freshman starter, playing against guys that are sophomores, juniors, and even redshirt fourth- and fifth-year seniors, and I think he responded the right way. He has a great head on his shoulders, and I think he’s going to put the team in the right situation to be successful in the upcoming years.”
Raiola received a lot of backlash regarding his weight last season. Well, if we dive deep into his performance, it had nothing to do with his weight. Despite being 240 pounds, as some people might say, the QB recorded 1,819 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions and also sported a 67.1% completion percentage. So, weight was never the problem. Speaking about Raiola’s fitness, he shed around 9-10 pounds in the off-season. Now that he’s lighter, it will be interesting to see how Dylan Raiola’s sophomore season goes.
Tommy Armstrong extends support to Matt Rhule
The Huskers are going through a tough time on the recruiting trail for the class of 2026. Despite that, Tommy Armstrong has shown his confidence in Matt Rhule and his tactics as a head coach. Sounds odd, right? But it’s true. Armstrong said, “He’s actually doing a lot of good things as far as not just the football side, but just the recruiting, getting coaches in. You can tell that it’s not just about the football team; it’s about the collective whole as far as the equipment trainers, the athletic managers, the academic advisors.”
Well, Rhule did change the staff, bringing in Phil Snow as associate head coach, Terry Bradden as defensive line coach, and Addison Williams as defensive backs coach. A little restructuring wouldn’t harm anyone. Seems like Rhule went where his heart took him. He also promoted John Butler to defensive coordinator and brought in Mike Ekeler as special teams coordinator. The team’s performance improved, so we can assume that the staff’s changing tactics worked for Rhule.
Talking about if Rhule’s year 3 will see the Huskers see success, Armstrong said, “Yeah, I think so. Like I said before, if you look at his resume, every year he has improved. From year 1 to year 3. So, he has done a great job of putting himself in the right situation. Like I said before, it just needs time. I know the last few coaches we had, they’ve really only had about three or four years before they kind of got the short end of the stick.”
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