Connect with us

Published

on

Dylan Raiola, ESPN’s top pocket-passing quarterback in the 2024 recruiting class, told ESPN on Monday he’s switching his college commitment to Nebraska from Georgia.

The decision marks a potential seismic shift in fortunes for Nebraska football, as Raiola’s commitment makes him the highest-ranked high school recruit to pick the Cornhuskers since ESPN began tracking rankings in 2006, per ESPN Stats & Information.

Raiola is ranked No. 8 overall in the 2024 ESPN 300.

In a phone interview Monday, Raiola detailed how a lifetime of being intertwined with Nebraska football played into his decision. His father, Dominic, was an All-American offensive lineman there, and his uncle Donovan is the school’s offensive line coach.

“I firmly believe that Nebraska is in my blood,” Raiola told ESPN. “It’s a great opportunity to be part of something bigger than myself. Nebraska is a special place.”

Nebraska marks the third school Raiola has been tied to in his recruitment. He committed to Ohio State early in May 2022, only to decommit and choose Georgia in May 2023.

The Bulldogs on Monday learned that quarterback Carson Beck, who had a 12-1 record in his first season as a starter, will return in 2024 for his senior season.

Raiola said there’s allure to potentially restoring glory to the Cornhuskers amid the program’s seven-year bowl drought spanning three head coaches. Nebraska’s history includes five national championships and three Heisman Trophy winners.

“I think it’ll mean a lot to bring it back,” Raiola said. “Just because of the legacy of so many great players that have walked through that locker room that’s been established there — to keep doing what they established.

“… Just the history of the Nebraska football program. It’s not just another program.”

The flip to Nebraska marks a major touchstone early in the tenure of Matt Rhule, who finished with a 5-7 mark in his first season. Nebraska had inconsistent quarterback play this year, with the country’s No. 126 passing offense and No. 120 scoring offense. The Cornhuskers had top-20 finishes in scoring defense, rush defense and total defense.

Rhule previously found success as the coach at Temple and Baylor, and he spent three seasons as an NFL coach before returning to Nebraska. He made a strong impression on Raiola.

“I believe from my dad being there, I understand the history of the program,” Raiola said. “I also understand my family legacy there and the fan base and aspirations. I strongly believe in the vision and culture that Coach Rhule has established with his staff.”

Raiola played high school football in both Texas and Arizona before he transferred to Buford (Georgia) High School this past summer. He threw for 2,666 yards, 34 touchdowns and just 1 interception in his final season.

Raiola plans to enroll early at Nebraska and be on campus in January. He visited over the weekend, with the outside expectation that he planned to eventually commit there.

“I went up there with an open mind,” Raiola said. “I think it was just another opportunity to be around the whole coaching staff and understand really Coach Rhule’s vision and culture and what he intends for Nebraska to be. He understands that himself. That’s huge. He can implement that into his coaching style and the way he interacts with his players.

“… I noticed the way that his players gravitate to him. He really cares about the person and the man that you are becoming. He uses the football platform to help develop you as a man. That’s what makes him the most special. He gets the most out of them, because he’s built strong relationships.”

Raiola has spent his whole life rooting for the Cornhuskers, as his dad won the Remington Award in 2000 as the top center in college football and earned first-team All-America honors. He was also a finalist for the Lombardi (top lineman) and Outland Awards (top interior lineman).

When asked who his favorite Cornhusker player growing up was, Dylan Raiola said he “rooted for the whole team.”

“That speaks a lot on how much it meant for my dad. My dad instilled that legacy in me,” Raiola said. “What he’s instilled in me and all that he’s taught me growing up is that he learned a lot of that from his time at Nebraska.”

While there’s no definitive starter at quarterback for 2024, Nebraska has avoided taking a high-profile quarterback from the NCAA transfer portal. Raiola said he’s eager to compete this spring and knows nothing will be handed to him.

“You have to go in and earn your stripes and compete and fall in line with what guys established last year,” Raiola said. “You’re still a freshman. You have to listen to everyone ahead of you. That’s the beautiful thing about it.”

When asked to write the perfect script of his career at Nebraska, Raiola acknowledged that it won’t be linear but said he’s looking forward to the adventure.

“I don’t think there’s a perfect vision of what it’s going to be,” he said. “There’s going to be ups and downs. … I can’t tell you what it’s going to be, but it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Continue Reading

Sports

Kiffin’s ‘little, short’ QB leads Rebels past LSU

Published

on

By

Kiffin's 'little, short' QB leads Rebels past LSU

OXFORD, Miss. — Listed at 6-foot-even, Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss didn’t receive any Division I scholarships out of Forest Hills Northern High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He transferred to Ole Miss in May from Division II Ferris State, where he typically played in front of about 5,000 people.

On Saturday, in front of 67,737 people — the fourth-largest crowd in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium — Chambliss led the Rebels to a 24-19 win against No. 4 LSU, pushing undefeated Ole Miss (5-0) into the College Football Playoff race and making a case to be the Rebels’ full-time starter.

Playing in place of injured starter Austin Simmons, Chambliss outplayed LSU senior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who entered the season as a projected first-round NFL draft pick. He completed 23-of-39 passing yards for 314 yards and one touchdown, and he ran 14 times for 71 yards.

“This is a really cool story,” Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said. “I like good stories. Here’s a little, short kid from Division II going against Nussmeier and the mighty Tigers with Ole Miss. It was really cool.”

Chambliss became the first SEC player with 300 pass yards and 50 rush yards in three consecutive games over the past 30 years. He has played so well during that span that Kiffin didn’t rule out the possibility of Chambliss earning the starting job.

“We’ve got a bye week coming up,” Kiffin said “It’s a good problem to have. I don’t have that answer right now, and I don’t need to have it right now. We have two really good quarterbacks. That’s a really good thing to have. You see around the country, people usually when they lose their quarterback, their team changes a lot. And Austin got hurt, and we’re still able to play the way that we played.”

It wasn’t a flawless performance for Ole Miss, which had 14 penalties for 109 yards — 10 of which came in the first half, the most in the Kiffin era. The Rebels, though, exposed LSU’s inept offense, which was held to just 57 rushing yards and was 2-of-11 on third-down conversions.

“We wanted it more,” safety Wydett Williams Jr. said of the defense. “Simple as that.”

Nussmeier was held to 197 passing yards, a career low as the Tigers’ starter. He was often off target and made several bad decisions, including in the second quarter, when he threw a pass into traffic that Williams snagged for an interception.

Chambliss, though, was playing behind an offensive line that didn’t allow one sack and gave him ample time to throw. He led a group that racked up 480 total yards against a defense that was one of the best in the SEC.

“It’s like a dream come true,” Chambliss said. “… It’s an amazing accomplishment. Got to thank God for that one, he’s been with me the whole time. I’ve got to thank Coach Kiffin, the whole staff here at Ole Miss for giving me the opportunity to come here and showcase my skill set, showcase what I can do. Great athletes, just an amazing support staff. It’s a dream come true.”

At Ferris, Chambliss led the Bulldogs to their third national title in four years last season, but the difference in resources was stark. He said he was used to practicing in the snow because there was no indoor facility. There have been a few upgrades with his move, including players around him like receiver Cayden Lee, who led the Rebels with four catches for 70 yards, and running back Kewan Lacy, who had 87 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.

“I feel like Trinidad has just done a really amazing job,” Lee said, “the way he’s handled the offense, the meetings he’s had with us personally, just getting us ready for the defense, having us dialed in the film studies, and that’s really showing on the field.”

Chambliss and Simmons hugged after the game, and those within the program said Simmons has handled his injury recovery and the situation well.

“Austin’s been a stud, battling his way back from injury,” Kiffin said. “That’s not easy. You’ve been waiting to be the starter for a couple of years, waiting for Jaxson [Dart] to leave, and so really proud of him as he’s handled that.”

The Rebels head into a bye week with three SEC wins, including Kentucky and Arkansas. Their win against the Tigers was the first this season against a ranked opponent, and it should catapult them into the top 12.

With about a minute left in the game, Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter told a staff member, “I think we need as many uniforms down here as we can,” to help prevent fans from storming the field.

It turned out that wasn’t necessary — a moment Kiffin said was an even more telling reaction about the state of the program.

“To me, that’s really cool that you get to a place as a program that you do beat the [No. 4] team in the country and you don’t rush the field because you’re doing what you’re supposed to do, and that’s win the game,” he said. “That makes me happy this program has gotten to that place.”

That doesn’t mean there wasn’t room to celebrate. As Kiffin went into the tunnel, he pumped his fist and flung his visor into the air.

Lee said the only expectations the Rebels have to meet are their own.

“I remember last year, everybody had all these expectations for us to go super, super far, and we didn’t end up doing that,” he said. “And this year I feel like almost nobody is talking us. All of the talk and stuff preseason doesn’t matter. It just matters the team’s mindset and what you guys are going to do every single game. So far we have a 1-0 mindset, and that’s worked out for us.”

Continue Reading

Sports

ACC: Officials missed key offsides call in GT-Wake

Published

on

By

ACC: Officials missed key offsides call in GT-Wake

The ACC said Saturday night that officials missed a pivotal offsides call that allowed No. 16 Georgia Tech to eventually overcome Wake Forest 30-29 in overtime in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

With the Yellow Jackets holding no timeouts and the Demon Deacons with the lead and working on the clock late in regulation, Wake Forest quarterback Robby Ashford threw a free-play deep ball on third-and-5 after a Georgia Tech player appeared to leap well offsides.

But officials didn’t throw a flag, sparking an irate reaction from the entire Wake Forest sideline and boos cascading from the stands.

The penalty would’ve been a 5-yarder and likely moved the chains, putting Wake Forest in position to potentially kneel out the clock. Instead, the Yellow Jackets got the ball back with 1:41 left, marched down the field and saw kicker Aidan Birr convert a 33-yard field goal with 2 seconds left in regulation to send the game to OT.

“I’m not putting that on Robby,” first-year Demon Deacons coach Jake Dickert told reporters. “There’s no way he can see the flag. We wanted to see the defensive look, we clapped, we’ll see what it ends up. And then Robby does what he’s trained to do, and that’s take a shot because he doesn’t know if that’s offsides or not.”

In overtime, Georgia Tech intercepted Wake Forest’s 2-point play to close out the win. The Yellow Jackets rallied from 17 down in the third quarter to stay unbeaten (5-0, 2-0 ACC).

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Continue Reading

Sports

OSU opens post-Gundy era, falls by 18 to Baylor

Published

on

By

OSU opens post-Gundy era, falls by 18 to Baylor

STILLWATER, Okla. — Sawyer Robertson passed for 393 yards and four touchdowns, and Baylor ruined Oklahoma State’s first game without Mike Gundy as head coach in more than 20 years with a 45-27 victory on Saturday.

Robertson threw each of his touchdown passes to a different player and also ran for a score. Josh Cameron caught six passes for 98 yards for the Bears (3-2, 1-1 Big 12), who gained 612 total yards.

Zane Flores passed for 232 yards for Oklahoma State, which lost its first game under interim coach Doug Meacham. Trent Howland had career highs of 84 yards and two touchdowns rushing for the Cowboys (1-3, 0-1).

Despite the loss, it was a significant improvement for the Cowboys, whose previous losses were 69-3 to Oregon and 19-12 to Tulsa. The Cowboys posted a season-high 448 yards.

Oklahoma State showed early that it planned to open things up. The Cowboys scored their first points of Meacham’s tenure on a double pass. Receiver Sam Jackson V completed a 26-yard touchdown pass to Josh Ford that tied the score at 7 in the first quarter.

Robertson threw three touchdown passes in the first half to help Baylor take a 28-20 lead at the break, despite Oklahoma State outgaining the Bears 349 yards to 285.

Howland added to his career day by throwing a 13-yard completion, then running in from a yard out on the next play to cut Baylor’s lead to 35-27 in the third. That was the closest Oklahoma State would get.

Continue Reading

Trending