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Dylan Raiola has gotten off to a great start in his college football career with the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The five-star prospect in the 2024 recruiting class entered the season with plenty of hype as he is the son of long-time Detroit Lions center Dominic Raiola and godson of Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford.
He lived up to that hype in preseason camp as he won the starting job ahead of his true freshman season. Raiola has continued to thrive in the regular season as, through three games, he has thrown for 670 yards, five touchdowns and one interception while completing 73.8% of his passes – the eighth-highest mark in college football so far.
His play has helped the Cornhuskers, who began the season unranked, rise to No. 22 in the latest rendition of the AP Top 25 Poll. Here's a closer look at whether or not his father played his college football at Nebraska.
Did Dylan Raiola’s dad play at Nebraska?
Dylan Raiola initially appeared set to follow in the footsteps of his godfather, Matthew Stafford, and spend his college football career under center for the Georgia Bulldogs. While the Nebraska Cornhuskers made his final list of four programs – along with the Bulldogs, Oregon Ducks and USC Trojans – he announced his commitment to Georgia in May 2023.
Seemingly out of nowhere, he flipped his commitment to Nebraska in December 2023, officially signing two days later. However, Raiola's decision to join the Cornhuskers was hardly a surprise as his dad, Dominic Raiola, played three seasons at Nebraska before being selected No. 50 overall in the second round of the 2001 NFL draft.
Furthermore, Dominic Raiola was a part of the Cornhuskers' last national title team in 1997, however, he was a redshirt freshman that year. He was named a consensus first-team All-American in his final season of college football, also earning first-team All-Big 12 honors in each of his two seasons as a full-time starter.
Additionally, Donovan Raiola, Dominic Raiola's younger brother, spent his collegiate playing career at Nebraska as well. He has served as the program's offensive line coach since 2022 and played a key role in flipping his nephew's commitment from Georgia.
Dylan Raiola and Co. (3-0) face the No. 24 Illinois Fighting Illini (3-0) at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska on Friday.
