The 3-2-1: All of Nebraska’s attention now turns to Dylan Raiola
All of Nebraska’s attention now turns to QB Dylan Raiola after Ohio State’s Kyle McCord continues to keep his transfer portal options open.
We hit on that and more in this week’s 3-2-1 column with three things we learned, two questions and one prediction.
RELATED – Ohio State QB Kyle McCord moving on from Nebraska, keeping portal recruitment open
THREE THINGS WE LEARNED THIS WEEK
1 – Things can turn on a dime with quarterback recruiting
On Wednesday during the early afternoon, all signs pointed to Nebraska being able to land the combination of Ohio State five-star quarterback transfer Kyle McCord and 2024 Buford (Ga.) five-star Dylan Raiola.
It was almost too good to be true. How possibly could Nebraska land two five star quarterbacks in one week this easily? It was teed up. McCord starts in 2024, and Raiola learns in the background with the four-game redshirt rule and takes over in 2025.
As many have learned over the last several years being a Husker fan, nothing is that easy. Especially when dealing with the new world of college football that involves the transfer portal and NIL.
The McCord camp clearly didn’t have the same feel for the situation in Lincoln as they did before all the Raiola news broke on Monday. The news hit right as they started their official visit.
The good news is the Huskers still look to be in a great position to land a five-star quarterback in Raiola. The bad news is we still have another week of possible drama to play out.
2 – 2024 commit Daniel Kaelin appears to be keeping his options open
Rightfully so, 2024 Nebraska quarterback commit Daniel Kaelin appears to be keeping his options open. We reported on Wednesday that Kaelin is expected to take an official visit to East Lansing this weekend.
The Spartans lost three quarterbacks to the transfer portal but plan to add one from the portal, and possibly two from the high school ranks. Kaelin would not be walking to a sure thing at MSU, just like it would be at Nebraska at this point.
There’s a lot to size up for Kaelin, who’s been a Husker commitment since May. His recruiting rivalry with Raiola goes back to 2021 when they both emerged with Huskers offers after their freshman years.
Kaelin has played second fiddle to Raiola since then, as naturally, the five-star is going to draw the attention. His spot to NU was not commitable until Raiola initially chose Georgia. Knowing how much he wants to be a Husker, I can’t imagine the swing of emotions Kaelin and his family have dealt with this week.
3 – Nebraska’s 2024 numbers crunch is real
We’ve heard so much about the numbers crunch Nebraska faces heading into 2024, and we are starting to see some of it play out. Because so few Husker players have entered the transfer portal this month, a few other roster moves had to play out.
We’ve seen NU part ways with both 2024 commits, JD Crisp and Jaxson Lee, to shave down the class size two spots.
We also saw the Big Red figure out how to add Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman offensive lineman Xander Ruggeroli as a preferred walk-on despite the fact he had multiple Power Five offers. That’s where Nebraska’s NIL comes into play, finding ways to make it work with a guy like Ruggeroli.
1 – Is WR Demond Demas still in play for the Huskers?
Nebraska made the first offer to former high school five-star wide receiver Demond Demas at Garden City (Kan.) C.C. earlier this season. He landed at Garden City after being dismissed at Texas A&M.
At one time, it looked like Demas might officially visit Lincoln in November. That visit never happened.
Things have been fairly quiet with Demas until Wednesday. He made a tweet of a corn cob, which got a lot of people’s wheels spinning. Demas confirmed to me on Wednesday that there is some interaction between him and the Husker coaching staff. This is a situation to watch closely. The question is, will he graduate in December or May?
2 – What is the background with transfer target Blye Hill?
St. Francis (Penn.) cornerback Byle Hill is the outlier of all the transfer portal visitors coming to campus this week.
What is the back story on Hill? The 6-foot-3, 165-pound Hill is the son of former NFL linebacker Leroy Hill, who played at Clemson and was a third-round pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. Leroy Hill was the 2004 ACC Defensive Player of the Year and had 512 tackles over eight seasons with the Seattle Seahawks.
His son Blye is a long, rangy cornerback who fits the profile of many under-the-radar Rhule recruits over his coaching tenure. There’s a lot of potential and upside with Byle Hill.
ONE PREDICTION: Huskers make it look easy in Tampa tonight
Some of you will probably accuse me of taking the easy way out by not making a prediction on Raiola. Look, my RPM is in. Based on what we know, I have Raiola going to the Huskers at this point.
My prediction today is on Husker volleyball. I predict Nebraska will make it look easy tonight in a win over Pittsburgh, setting up an epic final against Wisconsin or Texas. I’m also intrigued about the attendance numbers and if they can break 20,000.
Sean Callahan can be reached at sean@huskeronline.com and is heard daily at 6:45 am and 5:05 pm on Big Red Radio 1110 KFAB in Omaha during the football season. He can also be seen on KETV Channel 7 in Omaha during the fall, and each week, he appears on Nebraska Public Media’s Big Red Wrap-Up Tuesdays at 7 pm.
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