Nebraska may have to continually look over its shoulder to keep Dylan Raiola with the program.
The five-star recruit provided renewed hope to the Huskers when flipping his commitment from Georgia, and he led Nebraska to a 5-1 start. However, Raiola has thrown five interceptions during an ongoing three-game losing streak.
Head coach Matt Rhule responded to the rough patch by demoting offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield. Dana Holgorsen, a former head coach hired earlier this month, will call plays for the rest of the season.
Appearing on SiriusXM’s Big Ten Radio, Husker Online senior writer Robin Washut said Nebraska may have felt pressured to take action to make sure Raiola doesn’t consider transferring after the season.
“If Matt Rhule didn’t make a move, the odds of Dylan Raiola not being here next season go up dramatically,” Washut said. “So I think they had to do something.”
Washut said schools have undoubtedly already violated NCAA rules by impermissibly contacting Raiola. It’s unclear if he had any knowledge of specific incidents or is just accepting tampering as an inevitable reality of college football.
“I can guarantee you with 100 percent certainty that he and his camp have received tampering phone calls from people checking in, seeing if he wants to explore his options,” Washut declared.
Although he doesn’t know if Rhule hired Holgorsen to “appease” Raiola, Washut speculated that it probably affected the timing of his decision. Nebraska has three games remaining to secure the program’s first bowl game invite in eight years.
Washut thinks there’s pressure to make the most of Raiola’s time with the team.
“They know they have a window here. They have to do what it takes to one, make sure they get the most out of their prized five-star quarterback but then also, two, that they’re giving him incentive to stick around and trust this process,” Washut said. “He’s gonna have other options. Nebraska has to make sure that it’s appealing enough that he’s willing to stick it out here.”
However, Washut doesn’t anticipate a “happy” and “well-compensated” Raiola leaving Nebraska.
“They just needed some reason for optimism that this offense was going in the right direction and that Nebraska and Matt Rhule are willing to do things that are going to help Dylan be as successful as possible.”
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