For once, we are gonna look past this 6-5 season. Let’s be real. Matt Rhule put way too much on Dylan Raiola‘s plate. He was a true freshman starting for the Huskers, so naturally, the expectations were high. And well, early into the 2024 run, Dylan Raiola did manage to impress. He was going to head to head against massive defensive lines and throwing in curveballs to bring in touchdowns for the Cornhuskers. All great and all, but when the downfall started, it was hard to watch. Dylan Raiola quickly went from one of the best starting quarterbacks people had seen this year to just a random guy who was too scared to throw the football.
But hey, at least Rhule and Co. secured that Bowl game so it amounts to something, right? While Raiola failed to grab the playoff season for the Cornhuskers, he sure did make quite the noise as the team’s QB1. But with the season over, he has to come to terms with the inevitable.
Back on his Instagram story, Raiola shared the latest post by Huskers RB Emmett Johnson. “My brudda,” Raiola wrote with a heartbroken emoji.
Yeah, Johnson is heading into the transfer portal, and for Raiola, this is some sad news.
Over the season, Johnson has managed to snag 102 carries along with 523 yards. When Dana Holgorsen joined the ragtag Huskers crew, he made sure that Johnson played an important role in the offense. Yeah, some Huskers fans might say that he could’ve done more, but he did enough.
Rhule and Co. didn’t have the best season this year, and that is alright. See, most of the issues can be chalked down to the fact that Raiola was taking over too much pressure. That, added with the entire injury theory, does add to the narrative that Rhule should’ve sidelined the QB for a few games and let him recover.
Regardless, goodbyes ain’t forever. While Raiola is going to lose his trusty running back, he will still have the rest of the offense. However, a question that still probably lingers in the minds of many Nebraska followers is whether Dylan Raiola himself is going to stick with Nebraska in the 2025 season or not.
Now, why do we say there is a chance Raiola will take a walk? Back in November, the hosts over at 937 The Ticket had pointed out an interesting fact. “If we just make it to a bowl, he gonna feel proud and he out,” they had mentioned.
If, say, Nebraska had 9 wins this season. Maybe that would’ve been enough to keep Raiola on the team, but with a 5 loss year? There is a chance Raiola is going to take the easy way out and start new. What makes this entire theory even more strong is the post Raiola shared on his Instagram account back on December 3rd.
“Patience…stay on that side,” was written in the caption. Now, this could mean a million things. Maybe the young QB is thinking about the things he can do differently in the next season. Or maybe he is just reminiscing about the entire year?
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