Going int the season, Matt Rhule’s third version of the Nebraska Cornhuskers featured one of the youngest teams in the Big Ten conference. The travel roster featured fewer than 20 upperclassmen, and the three-deep depth chart fewer than 15. The future looked bright. And it still does.
However, the return of the two most impactful offensive players – who both have eligibility remaining – is now in question.
There is no question that star running back Emmett Johnson won’t be back. After earning All-Big Ten honors, leading the conference in rushing and being named the conference’s top running back, Johnson has declared for next spring’s NFL Draft with one season of eligibility still remaining. It’s not likely to be a matter of money – an NFL rookie may not earn as much as a Big Ten star makes in NIL dollars – but with the shelf life of the average professional running back being a short one, it makes sense for Johnson to take his shot now, while he is at his peak. The redshirt junior, spent four seasons in Lincoln and is ready for the next step with the blessing of his head coach.
ESPN Draft guru Mel Kiper has Johnson currently listed as the 7th best running back in the draft, making him a likely second day selection.
The status of standout sophomore quarterback Dylan Raiola however, remains up in the air.
Raiola is a “legacy” Cornhusker, following his father Dominic, who is a former Nebraska All-America selection and Rimington Award winner as the nation’s best center in 2000. Dominic played 14 years in the NFL with the Detroit Lions. His uncle Donovan is currently the Huskers Offensive Line coach, and has been since 2022.
But questions about Dylan’s long-term (likely one more season) future in Lincoln began to bubble to the surface when his younger brother Dayton, a three-star quarterback from Buford, Georgia, de-committed from Nebraska back in mid-November. That was seen as some as a sign the Dylan wasn’t planning to stick around Big Red Country, either.
The two matters may or may not be intertwined. Had he come to Lincoln, Dayton would have faced a tough battle for playing time. While Dylan was a five-star recruit and started for the Huskers from day one, Dayton is listed at a three-star prospect, and had he signed with the Cornhuskers this year, he would have been coming into a full QB room. In addition to Dylan, there’s current Nebraska freshman quarterback T J Lateef, who has stepped in after Raiola was suffered a broken fibula against USC on November 1st. There’s also the looming presence of incoming 2027 freshman four-star signal caller Trae Taylor, a more highly touted recruit who will arrive for the following season.
For his part, Dylan hasn’t been one to stick around one place for very long. He played for three different high school programs in three different states, starting in Texas (during COVID pandemic when many other states weren’t playing football) then moving to Chandler, Arizona for his junior year before landing at Buford High in Georgia for his senior season.
During his recruitment, Dylan initially committed to Ohio State in 2022 before changing his mind and committing to Georgia. After being loudly courted by Nebraska faithful, including ovations during basketball and volleyball games at the school, he flipped again, this time to Nebraska in mid-December of 2023.
His two seasons in Lincoln are his longest stay in one place since he spent two years at Burleson High in Texas during the pandemic.
Raiola’s injury isn’t considered long term. A Nebraska spokesman said that if the Huskers were in the College Football Playoff, his return could have been accelerated. As it is, he was on the sidelines with his teammates for the season ending Iowa game, and according to Rhule, is continuing to rehab with the Huskers medical staff .
What has Husker Nation worried is the lack of any sort of statement from Raiola’s camp. Unlike his head coach, who was upfront and explanatory during his brief mid-season courtship with Penn State, Raiola has remained mum about his future.
For Nebraska, that silence is not golden.
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