The 2025 season has been one of full of drama-filled headlines without a doubt. And this week after the bye-week, following no new news in Monday and Tuesday’s press conferences, appeared to be relatively
devoid of anything beyond the upcoming Penn State game and the preparations for that tilt.
But then hello Wednesday morning!
Dayton Raiola has reportedly left the Huskers’ already thin 2026 recruiting class after being committed for over a year.
He is the composite 99th ranked drop-back quarterback among the four recruiting services and held offers from Charlotte, Appalachian State and Georgia, though the Bulldogs’ offer is likely gone since they have a commitment from 5-star #2 QB Jared Curtis. His early commitment and reported love for the program was probably the reason responsible for the list not being longer.
A possible reason for the departure was watching an already tight window for playing time drawing even tighter after true freshman T.J. Lateef’s successful performance against UCLA which will be followed by more on-the-job training and work with the first unit against Penn State, Iowa and a bowl game opponent to be determined following the season-ending injury to Dayton’s brother Dylan.
In addition to Dylan having two more years of eligibility and Lateef having three more (his five games will burn his redshirt possibility), composite nationally #4-ranked QB Trae Taylor will enter the picture in 2027. Rather than wait two more weeks to see what else happens with Lateef, it could have been decided to throw his name back in the ring now as early signing day approaches December 3-5.
Matt Rhule reportedly visited Dayton in Buford yesterday, so this has the air of a mutual decision around it. And if we retitle the opener –
Dayton Raiola, brother of current Husker QB Dylan Raiola, nephew of offensive line coach Donovan Raiola and son of former Husker All-American Dominic Raiola, has decommitted from the 2026 recruiting class.
– then it becomes understandable why the announcement of the decommit of a 3-star quarterback not in anyone’s top 250-300 nationally will cause some frazzled online postings and consternations. Is Dylan leaving too?? Does this mean Donovan’s being fired? ARE ALL TIES WITH THE RAIOLAS BEING SEVERED???
The fact that Rhule made a trip to Buford suggests Occam’s Razor is fully in play here, that is, “The simplest explanation is usually the correct one,” and that Dayton is simply looking for an option that presents a better chance at the most playing time. He will likely garner some interest as he is now one of the highest-ranked uncommitted quarterback in the 2026 class.
Until more news on the subject arrives and the next few weeks play out, there’s likely to be plenty of chatter along the lines of that two paragraphs above. Matt Rhule’s Thursday presser may shed more light on the subject, so we’ll report here tomorrow if that’s the case.
