The Nebraska Cornhuskers recently flipped one of the highest recruits in the 2024 recruiting class, quarterback Dylan Raiola, in one of the most impactful recruiting sequences in Nebraska football history.

Raiola is the No. 8 player in the recruiting class, and he is the number one overall pocket-passer. Raiola was previously committed to Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs after initially committing to Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes. In an ESPN article, Raiola cites his history with the Huskers as a big part of the reason for his most recent flip.

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.”

Raiola is the highest-ranked recruit the Nebraska Cornhuskers have ever gotten to come to Lincoln since the inception of recruiting rankings in 2006. He has the potential to completely alter the program. Husker fans are understandably excited.

While future Nebraska Cornhuskers QB Dylan Raiola is promising, not all five-star QBs pan out

The overwhelming majority of five-star quarterbacks end up having college careers that would’ve greatly benefited the 2023 Huskers. That being said, there are plenty of five-star quarterbacks that didn’t end up playing up to their standards.

One of the most famous recent examples of this is now-retired quarterback Tate Martell. Martell was a recruit that was at the top of his class, and was considered by many to be the best player coming out of high school. Not only was he considered one of the best recruits in his class, he was considered by some to be one of the best recruits ever.

Despite his highly-touted nature, he never panned out at the college level. He lost the starting job at Ohio State to Justin Fields, and transferred to the Miami Hurricanes. After failing to win the job there, he transferred once again to UNLV. He finally retired from football in 2022 after an injury.

Some argue Raiola could be headed down a similar path due to the fact that he flipped his commitment twice, and played for three different high schools. Martell is just one example of a highly-rated quarterback that never amounted to much on the field. Other examples include:

Max Browne (USC)

Gunner Kiel (Notre Dame)

Garrett Gilbert (Texas)Ryan Perrilloux (LSU)

Mitch Mustain (Arkansas)

Dayne Crist (Notre Dame)

Future Nebraska Cornhuskers QB Dylan Raiola hopes to become a legend like some

Despite the solid number of five-star busts, there are a lot of five-star quarterbacks that end up being Heisman winners, National Championship winners and college football legends.

One notable example of a five-star coming to fruition is former Florida Gator and Auburn Tiger Cam Newton. Newton, along with fellow successful five-star recruit Tim Tebow, started his career with Urban Meyer and the Florida Gators.

Newton did not see the field and got in trouble for stealing a laptop, which forced him to transfer to Auburn. During his time with Auburn, Newton completed one of the most legendary championship runs in the history of the sport.

Newton won the Heisman Trophy, threw for nearly 3,000 yards and rushed for nearly 1,500 yards. He had 51 total touchdowns en route to beating the Oregon Ducks in the National Championship. One of the most impressive facts about Newton’s championship run is how he did it with very few memorable teammates.

Newton is just one of many five-star quarterbacks to live up to the hype. Other quarterbacks to do the same are:

  • Matthew Stafford (Georgia)
  • Kyler Murray (Oklahoma)
  • Vince Young (Texas)
  • Tua Tagovailoa (Alabama)
  • Trevor Lawrence (Clemson)
  • Justin Fields (Ohio State)
  • Jameis Winston (Florida State)

Raiola’s future as a quarterback for the Nebraska Cornhuskers is uncertain. He has the potential to end up at the top of the sport like some of the quarterbacks, but five-star quarterbacks are far from a surefire thing. One thing to consider is that most five-star quarterbacks are surrounded by significantly more talent than Raiola will be surrounded with at Nebraska.