USC just moved a pretty big chess piece onto the board in the hunt for Dylan Raiola and Nebraska football fans might need to worry.
When it comes to recruiting a prospect like Dylan Raiola, there is no decision or strategic move that should be considered out of bounds. That’s likely exactly the kind of thought that went through USC coach Lincoln Riley’s head when he came up with the idea to add former Texas Tech and Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury to his staff.
Kingsbury’s addition to the Trojans was announced late Monday night. It should come as no surprise that now that he’s officially a member of Riley’s crew, he’ll be spending his time working with quarterbacks. And that sure feels like the Men of Troy are hoping it’s a trump card in the race for Raiola.
The timing of the move is interesting for a couple of reasons. The first being it feels like this isn’t something that just happened. So why did it take until the middle of April to get a deal done? The second is that it comes just a couple of days after Raiola made some comments that left USC out of the conversation entirely.
USC is hiring former Cardinals HC Kliff Kingsbury to be their QBs Coach.
— JWP Sports / CFBAlerts (@JWPSports) April 11, 2023
Will pair himself with the Heisman QB Caleb Williams. 👀🍿 pic.twitter.com/198wWgWHli
Of course, there was a time when the recruiting experts also thought the Trojans were the team to beat for the top prospect in the 2024 class. Could they be jumping back into the lead with this move? It’s going to be interesting.
Nebraska football doesn’t have a matching play
It’s possible that USC hasn’t ended the race for Dylan Raiola, but it’s hard to argue this isn’t a trump card. The Huskers don’t have a play like this at their disposal. At least, it certainly doesn’t seem like that’s an option.
For the Trojans, there’s the added bonus that even if Kliff Kingsbury doesn’t help them land the highly-touted quarterback recruit, it could help them make their current starting quarterback in Caleb Williams, that much better.
It’s a win-win for Lincoln Riley and company. The effect on Nebraska football’s hopes in landing Dylan Raiola isn’t known just yet, but it’s not a net positive for the Huskers.