Now that Nebraska football has wrapped up its spring practice, it’s officially time to look towards the season and start looking at what starting quarterback Dylan Raiola can provide.
Just what that might be is still unclear. While the Husker coaches have talked about his growth, it’s hard to know how much of that is hype and how much is the coaches wanting to build him up.
Dylan Raiola’s quiet offseason could be the key to Nebraska football’s breakout hopes
However, one analyst believes that the Nebraska football team hasn’t generated much hype for Raiola. And JD Pickell thinks that’s a good thing. The insider discussed the Huskers on a recent episode of his podcast and said that the buzz is about right where it should be for the quarterback as he enters his sophomore season.
No warm-up for Raiola. It’s time to go get in 2025.https://t.co/QVoOAL9ogs pic.twitter.com/Cxgegrvblv
— J.D. PicKell (@jdpickell) April 28, 2025
“You don't get a ton around Dylan Raiola in regards to buzz and what he's doing,” Pickell said. “And to me, man, no news is good news, I think, at this point. Like, a guy who's going into his second year and there's not a bunch of things said about him about, you know, these massive growth points or these massive errors or mistakes. It's just like, okay, we kind of know what he is. Business as usual.”
Pickell added that one of the reasons there hasn’t been as much talk about “what will Raiola offer?” this season is because he’s a known commodity, to some degree.
“He wasn't really the question mark for you last year for Nebraska, was he? Like, yes, of course, he was growing and he had some plays that I'm sure you'd like to have back, and there's some freshman mistakes. But I don't think you leave last year if you're a Nebraska fan saying, 'man, Dylan Raiola just really held us back last year.'”
Pickell also believes that the arrival of Dana Holgorsen will allow Dylan Raiola will feed off having an established offensive coordinator.
“So for the first time now in his college career. He has someone who can actually tailor the offense to his skill set, speak his language, and has a tremendous track record with quarterbacks to actually elevate his game.”
There are still obvious questions surrounding Dylan Raiola and what he can do in his second season. But there are plenty of signs to lean on that 2025 could be a big one.