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After the Nebraska football team beat Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl, 20-15, opposing head coach Bill O'Brien would speak about freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola and his future. As the Nebraska football team looks to surround Raiola with talent via the transfer portal and recruiting, there is no doubt that he will be the face of the program for years to come.
In the bowl win, Raiola had a solid game where he threw for 228 yards to go along with one touchdown throw and an interception while completing 23 of his 31 passes. O'Brien would point to his management of the game and say how the 19-year-old has a “great future” according to 247 Sports.
“He just does a good job of managing the game,” O'Brien said. “He has a great future in football.”
Raiola was especially great in the second half when Boston College made the game a tight one, but the freshman would throw for a touchdown, completing 12-of-15 passes, even hitting on nine of 10 attempts to close the win. So far this season, the five-star out of high school has thrown for 2,823 yards to go along with 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
“We wanted to get the feeling of ‘oh gosh is it going to be good or bad?' out of our system…We wanted to end the game with the ball,” Raiola said.
Matt Rhule speaks on Dylan Raiola
While Raiola was known for mimicking Patrick Mahomes in pre-game warmups, Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule sees the results that are on the field. He would speak after the game about the attributes that he has that the coach is “looking for in a quarterback.”
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“He did the things that are hard to do to win the game and that's what I'm looking for in a quarterback,” Rhule said at Yankee Stadium Saturday. “Tell me the guys who do the hard things to win and that's who I want to be my quarterback.”
“One of the things I told Dylan was ‘You can go someplace where the team at the present moment is significantly better than the teams around them, then once or twice a year to win a game,” Rhule continued. “Then you're going to get drafted by the worst team in the NFL and they're going to say, ‘put every game on your back.' “Dylan has had those opportunities this year — ‘Dylan for us to win, you're going to have to play well'”
Dylan Raiola is “mature” and “an inspiration”
Rhule would continue by saying that “playing quarterback as a freshman in the Big Ten isn't easy” which could prove beneficial to Raiola as he will continue to get better and grow into possibly one of the country's best quarterbacks. There is no doubt that he has the locker room as senior wide receiver Jahmal Banks, who led with four receptions for 79 yards, said that Raiola is “mature” and “doesn't stop learning.”
“He came in and he's so mature, but that doesn't mean he doesn't stop learning,” Banks said. “He's battled so much external stuff and maybe that's affected him a little bit, but he broke through and he grinned and nothing can stop that kid but himself, he's been grateful, he's been appreciative, he's been an inspiration to the whole team.”
Nebraska finished with a 7-6 record.
