(Photo: Will Turboff, 247Sports)
If you’re the #1 recruit in the country, the mystery doesn’t last long when you fly to Nebraska.
That’s how it is with me Dylan Raiola and his family this weekend who landed back in The Good Life territory on Friday night on a weekend visit to see more family which of course includes the Husker O-Line trainer Donovan Raiola.
While the current death toll keeps a recruit from visiting other coaches or touring campus facilities, the Raiolas’ return to Nebraska ahead of a scheduled visit to Lincoln on March 25 has Husker fans in turmoil.
But do you know who else is pursuing Raiola’s recruitment with any intrigues? top recruits.
You may have noticed the tweet from Friday afternoon KJ Bolden, number 2 in the 2024 class rankings, just behind Raiola. The Buford, Georgia-based athlete tweeted to Husker Director Player of Staff Omar Haleswhile also tagging Raiola.
Yes @Omeezi_ what’s good with #24Our ?? @HuskerFBNation @RaiolaDylan
— Khalil “KJ” Bolden (@KhalilBolden2) February 24, 2023
Maybe something, maybe nothing, but even this little tweet will make people jump.
What it tells you is that when Raiola chooses his school, some big dogs who want to play with certain other big dogs will think about it for at least a minute.
Bolden isn’t the only prominent recruit to mention QB Raiola. Top247 Offensive Lineman Isaiah Garcia, who has heard of Donovan Raiola on the recruit trail, recently told Husker247 about his desire to play with an elite quarterback and even mentioned that the idea of playing with Dylan could play a role in his recruiting when it comes to Nebraska goes. You know, if Nebraska was the choice.
“I think it would be really special to be able to block for a guy like that,” Garcia said. “If someone like him trusts me, he’s super talented, so if I would team up with him as someone of my caliber, that would be really cool.”
linebacker Thomas Heideberger (Sioux Falls, SD) also noted in an interview with Husker247 that the recruiting dynamic with Nebraska was easy to see and mentioned Husker’s pursuit of Raiola as part of it.
“You’ve obviously seen Rhule flip in his past programs, and I think Husker fans should be excited to see what the new staff will bring to the table,” said Heiberger, who plans to commit the same weekend in late March visit like the top rated QB. “What I’ve seen so far is that they can recruit kids from anywhere. They have the No. 1 player in the country on the same day as me, which I think is pretty crazy. It will be fun to see how you do it next season. I think they could definitely flip it.
Husker fans were further cheered on Friday when Rhule tweeted a video highlighting some of the key recruiting primaries (including Arizona, where Raiola is located) the Huskers will hit this cycle.
— Matt Rhule (@CoachMattRhule) February 25, 2023
“Here in Nebraska, we all know that the time is now,” were the last words in this video.
The Huskers are hoping that includes Raiola, who also appear to have Georgia, USC and Oregon strongest in the mix. While there is much speculation as to what the final pick will be, he has a crystal ball favoring Nebraska from one of our reporters at Husker247. Others in the network are certainly not ruling out this possibility either.
“Matt Rhule and Nebraska finding a way to secure Dylan Raiola would completely change the national perception of the program,” national recruiting analyst Cooper Petagna said Tuesday on the 247Sports Football Recruiting Podcast. “This could be a huge boost for Nebraska, not just on the field, but in terms of being able to make a splash and get back into that mainstream news cycle. I don’t know if there’s a better place for him to develop than Nebraska.”