Dylan Raiola’s freshman campaign was more “Fast & Furious: Nebraska Drift” than “Heisman Redemption.” He had moments, sure—a 3–0 start and a nasty 28–10 dub over Colorado? Fire. But then the wheels started squeaking. His 12 touchdowns came with 10 picks, and don’t let that Pinstripe Bowl win fool you—they barely scraped by Boston College. The Cornhuskers ended their season with a 7-6 record. And Raiola missed wide-open throws like he was allergic to completions. His deep ball? Overthrown. His reads? Slow. His decision-making? Like he was playing 500-ball in the backyard. But yeah, he was a freshman, so folks gave him a pass… last year.
Year 2? No passes left.
Nebraska insider Wilson Dittman isn’t sugarcoating it either. On his May 4th pod, Dittman flat-out dropped the mic: “Am I the only one that’s just not convinced Dylan Raiola is going to take this big step forward in year two?” He added, “Last year, I was one of the most optimistic Dylan supporters on the internet. And people would come in my comment section after games and they’d call for Dylan to be benched, and they’d say all this, and I’d say, ‘You guys are being stupid. Dylan’s a freshman quarterback. He’s still going through it. He’s going to be good.’”
Dittman didn’t stop there. He called out Raiola’s blown plays. That missed touchdown against Illinois to Luke Lindenmeyer on 3rd and 3? Ugly. That gave Matt Rhule his first L of the season. And that deep shot to Jaylen Lloyd against Iowa? MIA. “We would have won probably three more football games than we did.” Dittman argued. “We would’ve probably won ten when it was all said and done.”
Dylan Raiola’s raw numbers weren’t trash—2,819 yards on 275-of-410 passing with a 67.1% completion rate? That’s solid on paper for a rookie. But we are not grading spreadsheets. His film was messy. Pocket presence came and went like Nebraska’s offense on 3rd and long. And the whole “five-star pedigree” thing starts losing juice when you are not outplaying DJ Lagway—especially in what Dittman called, “He wasn’t the best true freshman quarterback last year—in a really bad true freshman class.”
Even Matt Rhule, who’s been hyping Raiola all spring, got side-eyed. “Rhule said Jeff Sims was a future NFL QB, remember?” Dittman smirked. “So I don’t want to sound pessimistic, but I’m not really going to take Matt Rhule’s complete word for it when he’s talking about a starting quarterback. He’s going to hype up his guy.” And you can’t blame him. Rhule told the media this spring that Raiola’s “ten steps ahead,” but fans still got flashbacks of Raiola overthrowing ghosts.
Sure, there’s hope. New OC Dana Holgorsen is supposed to bring some QB-friendly sauce into the offense, and if anyone can fix a passer’s mechanics and confidence, it’s Dana. But man… Raiola’s leash is tight. He’s not walking into 2025 as a baby-faced rookie. He’s walking in as the guy who better deliver, or it’s going to be pitchforks and portals. And just when the heat couldn’t get any spicier in Lincoln… the young gun Trae Taylor decided to throw gasoline on the cornstalks.
Matt Rhule’s new QB is warned after pulling a disrespectful move
Did you know a hat toss can make a 16-year-old public enemy No. 1 in two zip codes? Because that’s exactly what happened when Trae Taylor—Nebraska’s shiny new 2027 class 4-star QB commit—pulled off one of the coldest (or corniest, depending who you ask) recruiting stunts of the year.
Cameras were rolling. The kid picked up an Illinois hat, said he was “staying home,” then yeeted it like it was hot garbage and flashed a Nebraska jersey under his hoodie. Instant chaos. Nebraska fans? Hyped. Illinois fans? Ready to throw hands. That hat toss wasn’t just drama—it was a disrespect buffet. llinois fans? Furious. Even their starting QB, Luke Altmyer, couldn’t hold it in—he fired off a now-deleted post calling it “corn ball, no pun intended.” And it didn’t stop there.
Nebraska insiders Sean Callahan and Steven Sipple hopped on HuskerOnline and didn’t exactly give Trae a free pass. “I’ve done this job enough to know that 99.9% of the time, that type of thing doesn’t work,” Callahan said. “It sounds cool in theory. I’m gonna do this funny thing, but you won’t sometimes realize how many people you’re upsetting.”
Facts. Social media lit up like a Christmas tree. That move might’ve played in a Netflix doc, but in the Big Ten? You just made every Illinois defender circle the date you all play in 2027. To his credit, Trae didn’t even hide. He dropped a straight-up apology video that night: “I did want to film this video to apologize to Illini Nation,” Trae said. “Throwing the hat the way I did today was not the way I want to be perceived. I know it was very disrespectful. I really just wanted to get on here and say that’s not who I am and what I want to be known as. Moment got to me a little bit, and I just want to say sorry.”
Trae looked genuinely shook. His dad, J.R. Taylor, hopped on X like a real one. “Yep, my 16-year-old son made a mistake he wish he could have back. The Illinois program has been great to Trae. He meant no disrespect to anyone in that organization. But he did do it and must deal with the consequences. Live and learn, son, live and learn.”
Even Sipple had to let it breathe. “He’s a sophomore in high school, right? This falls under the category of youthful indiscretion.” But here’s the twist—for all the chaos, Nebraska fans should still be hyped. Trae Taylor is a dawg. He’s ranked as a top-five QB in the class of 2027 and built like the type of dual-threat that eats Big Ten defenses alive. But now? He’s got a target on his back before he’s even taken a college snap. Nebraska’s got to protect him, coach him up, and pray that this little PR mess becomes a footnote, not a headline. So while Dylan Raiola’s trying to prove he’s worth the five stars, and Trae Taylor’s learning that commitment clips aren’t promos… Matt Rhule has some real QB drama on his hands.
The post Nebraska Insider’s Blunt Dylan Raiola Verdict Rocks Matt Rhule as HC’s Elite QB Commit’s Illinois Disrespect Triggers Backlash appeared first on EssentiallySports.
