A lot of eyes on the Husker QB target Dylan Raiola as he works through weekend visit. For those who need pictures or it didn’t happen, those are out there to prove it.
Dylan Raiola is in town this weekend as expected and hope of Husker fans remains high for good reason. There was a blurry picture out there of him at a Misty’s Steakhouse on Friday night. Spotted at a Husker wrestling match on Saturday night, laughing and signing autographs.
What’s Sunday to bring?
The Crystal Ball predictions keep swinging Nebraska’s way, though the five-star quarterback who has been committed to Georgia since May hadn’t made an announcement as of Saturday evening’s close.
But all seven predictions by 247Sports reporters, including a wave-rocking one from 247Sports director of football recruiting Steve Wiltfong on Monday, are pointed at Nebraska. A lead analyst covering Georgia also favors the Huskers at this point.
Certainly Raiola’s being in town on the weekend before early signing day is a large tell the Huskers are positioned quite well to possibly land their highest rated recruit in the Internet era. Or any era. It’s hard to be ranked higher. Raiola is rated No. 2 overall among all recruits by 247Sports only behind wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who is committed to Ohio State.
NU is hoping for a haul larger than just Raiola, with portal defensive back Blye Hill (from the FCS school St. Francis) also picking up a Crystal Ball favoring Nebraska on Saturday. Nebraska also has two linebackers – four-star prospect Dylan Williams, committed to Oregon; and Vincent Shavers, having decommitted from Miami on Friday; who the Huskers are making a late charge at in this cycle.
As talented as those prospects are, Raiola remains the king headline grabber, with his potential flip being followed closely around the college football world.
«I think the thing that really stands out about him is the command of the offense and then the fact that he takes care of the football,» said Andrew Ivins, director of scouting for 247Sports, who has watched Raiola up close and interviewed him during his recruitment.
To Ivins’ point, which he expressed during a Husker247 Podcast with Mike Schaefer, Raiola threw 34 touchdowns to one interception for Buford High in Georgia this year. He completed 63.2 percent of his throws.
Ivins got the chance to catch up with Raiola during the Elite 11 event earlier this year. Ivins was impressed how Raiola handled himself despite being such a high-profile recruit.
«I thought it was going to be this like arrogant, cocky individual and I didn’t get that at all from him,» Ivins said of Raiola. «Now I think he’s someone that is very aware of his surroundings, and that kind of scares me a bit for a potential true freshman starting quarterback. Because there’s going to be a lot of noise, especially if they roll him out there early…»
But there’s a lot Ivins likes for Raiola to compete for that starting job off the bat.
The commitment must come first, of course, and there is competition ahead with Chubba Purdy and Heinrich Haarberg still in the Nebraska quarterbacks room. Also of positive news for Nebraska, Bellevue West’s Daniel Kaelin did not go on a Michigan State visit this weekend as planned and remains committed to the Huskers.
For certain it’s been a recruiting week unique to any we’ve had around here. What remains needed is the punctuation at the end of the sentence.
But a few days before the signatures go on the dotted line, the QB is here in town, with the pictures to prove it.