Dylan Raiola navigating through spring ball with more confidence

LINCOLN, Neb. — After a season of leading Nebraska to a winning campaign for the first time since 2016, the true sophomore gunslinger is feeling more comfortable in his second spring in Lincoln.

Although Dylan Raiola didn’t quite live up to his five-star billing last year, he earned the respect of his teammates, coaching staff and the fans. There’s a tremendous amount of pressure that comes with being the big man on campus, and face of the program.

However, this time around Raiola is feeling more at ease in practice for many reasons. After all, he returned from spring break with a new mentality, a leaner frame and more determination than ever before. In his mind this spring is extremely important. Now that he’s more familiar with Dana Holgorsen’s playbook, everything is running smoother for the offense as a whole.

“I think we can get a quicker jump on things, Dana kind of put his stamp on it, we’ve had our time to meet, and install things from a player standpoint,” Raiola said. “So we’re kind of ahead of the curve of installing, knowing where to be, what to do, and I think we can get more advanced in our plays.”

Having this level of confidence didn’t happen overnight for Raiola though. After Nebraska’s bowl win over Boston College, Raiola took a three-week vacation in January to focus on himself mentally, physically and emotionally. He traveled back home to Georgia, Arizona and Newport Beach. Not to mention football wasn’t on his mind, and he didn’t practice.

Instead Raiola focused on his diet, and kept his body on a schedule. Managing his weight over the past 60 days continues to be a grueling process. Raiola sometimes has to remind himself that it’s a marathon, and not a sprint when it comes to achieving results. His father Dominic is also helping him with nutrition. All of his hard work is starting to pay off, after returning from spring break nearly 10 pounds lighter.

“If I’m being honest it sucks, it’s a constant grind everyday, sometimes you don’t see change right away in this instant, and physical body standpoint doesn’t change in a day,” he said. “It doesn’t change in a week, it doesn’t change in two weeks, not even three, so it’s just the consistency of staying on it and keep it going.”

Now Raiola is looking slimmer, and feels that he’s in the best shape of his life, thanks to some boxing-like training. After studying film from last season, Raiola understands the offense left several points off the scoreboard. The close conference losses to Illinois, Ohio State and Iowa continue to haunt him. So there’s an emphasis on closing out games, especially in the final two minutes.

Holgorsen is installing more tempo to the offense, and Raiola loves keeping the defense on its’ heels. The Georgia native is finding himself being more of a leader too. All of Raiola’s teammates are rallying behind him, and taking the same approach, which is why he’s embracing the role.

“I think it’s easier in a way, but it’s also a lot of work, being a leader you gotta earn a lot of trust in guys,” the 19-year old said. “Obviously having Coach Rhule at the helm of the program, kind of leading and guiding me through it all, so I’m grateful to have him, it has been fun, and our guys have gravitated towards each other.”

Raiola finished strong down the stretch in 2024, with 707 passing yards over the final three games. Despite the loss of wideout Isaiah Neyor, and tight end Thomas Fidone to the NFL, the signal-caller is operating with a new arsenal of weapons to stretch the field.

Raiola worked out with his wide receivers three times a week over the winter. He also hangs out with them off the field to build more chemistry, including watching basketball games and playing cards. Raiola compares having them around to a car lover collecting an influx of luxury vehicles, and believes building that rapport will go a long way on the gridiron.

Holgorsen is in awe of Raiola’s maturation process, and how he’s carrying himself like a seasoned-veteran. His teammates are building off his energy, and he’s making others around him better, which Holgorsen believes are qualities of a great player.

“I’ve never been with a quarterback that is comfortable in the gun, and can sit in the pocket and be a drop back passer, but also be able to get under center and make run-game checks,” Holgorsen said. “I mean he (Raiola) is exceptional at it, so we’re going to do it.”

All of the players are soaking up Holgorsen’s football knowledge like a sponge, and Raiola is learning something new everyday. He’s confident that the rest of the offense is ahead of schedule too. Most importantly, Raiola doesn’t want his teammates to make the x’s and o’s more complicated than they already are.

“I think it’s just boring and simple, go out there, execute, don’t make the simple mistakes and practice.”