LINCOLN, Neb. — The Nebraska football program posted a picture of Dylan Raiola moving into his dormitory on one of its social media platforms and it was viewed nearly 14 million times in a week. His hairstyle and sunglasses prompted a flood of comments about how much he resembled Patrick Mahomes.
The anecdote illustrates the excitement and expectations for the highest-rated recruit in program history among a fan base that's endured seven straight losing seasons, the Cornhuskers' worst stretch since the 1940s.
Raiola was the nation's No. 1 or 2 quarterback prospect in the 2024 recruiting class, and he had pledged to Ohio State and Georgia before he flipped to Nebraska in December. Anticipation has been building since. On Wednesday, he was named the starter for the Aug. 31 opener against UTEP.
How does the son of Nebraska All-America center Dominic Raiola tune out the noise?
“First, my faith,” he said. “I wake up every morning, give my devotion, and it sets your day off right and you protect yourself from the world. And then I have great parents that have raised me correctly and have taught me the way to act and how to be around people and keep the distractions out.”
It also helps that his uncle, Donovan Raiola, is the offensive line coach and his sister, Taylor, is a graduate manager for football recruiting.
“To have family in the building is very comforting,” Dylan said.
As for similarities between Mahomes and Raiola, both wear jersey No. 15, and Raiola has trained with Mahomes' longtime personal coach, Jeff Christensen. Raiola said it's cool if fans want to say he looks like Mahomes. He said he can only aspire to play like him.
“Just try to do my thing," he said, pausing. “My hair? I guess it looks like his.”
Can Nebraska improve?
The Huskers haven't won more than five games since 2016. They had four losses by three points while going 5-7 last year.
“If I say 10-2 is good, or 8-4, I'm telling you I think we're going to lose four games,” coach Matt Rhule said. “I want to go out and try to win every game. So I guess what I’m saying to you is I expect us to be a really good team. If we’re 5-7 again, that’s not going to be enough.”
Those pesky turnovers
The list of priorities begins with cutting down on turnovers, an issue that carried over from the Scott Frost regime. The Huskers' 50 turnovers since 2022 are most among power-conference teams. Their 15 lost fumbles last year were most in the nation, and their minus-17 turnover margin was second worst.
“Having a minus-17 turnover ratio ... We might have won nine games, and I don't think we were necessarily a nine-win team," Rhule said. "That speaks to a lot of good things we did, but one thing messed it up. And so we’ll fix it.”
Upgraded receiving corps
The most improved position should be receiver, where the Huskers added transfers Jahmal Banks and Isaiah Neyor. Each has one year of eligibility.
Banks recorded more than 100 catches and 1,400 receiving yards in four seasons at Wake Forest. Last year he caught 59 balls for a team-high 653 yards and four touchdowns.
Neyor was one of the top receivers in the Mountain West for Wyoming in 2021. He transferred to Texas and missed 2022 because of injury and appeared in just one game last season.
Freshman Carter Nelson, who played tight end in high school, has moved to receiver and is in line for significant playing time. Tight end Thomas Fidone is set to build on a solid 2023.
It's about respect
Isaac Gifford, the Huskers' leading tackler last year, leads a veteran defense under coordinator Tony White. He said he returned for a fifth season rather than declare for the NFL draft because his work is not done at Nebraska.
The Gifford name has been part of the program for most of the last 10 years. Luke was a linebacker at Nebraska from 2014-18 and now plays for the Tennessee Titans.
“Since I’ve been here, it’s to get Nebraska to the place where everybody respects you,” Isaac said. “And that’s what we’re going to get done.”
The schedule
The Huskers open Aug. 31 against UTEP. Their first major conference test is Oct. 26 at No. 2 Ohio State. The closing stretch against Southern California (road), Wisconsin (home) and Iowa (road) will be a challenge. The nonconference highlight is Sept. 7 at home when they try to avenge last year's loss to old rival Colorado.
