The Nebraska football program posted a picture of Dylan Raiola moving into his dormitory on one of its social media platforms and it was viewed nearly 14 million times in a week. His
hairstyle and sunglasses prompted a flood of comments about how much he resembled Patrick Mahomes.
The anecdote illustrates the excitement and expectations for the highest-rated recruit in program history among a fan
base that’s endured seven straight losing seasons, the Cornhuskers’ worst stretch since the 1940s.
How does the son of Nebraska All-America center Dominic Raiola tune out the noise?
“First, my faith,” he said. “I wake up every morning, give my devotion, and it sets your day off right and you protect yourself from the world. And then I have great parents that have raised me correctly and have taught me the way to act and how to be around people and keep the distractions out.”
It also helps that his uncle, Donovan Raiola, is the offensive line coach and his sister, Taylor, is a graduate manager for football recruiting.
“Since I’ve been here, it’s to get Nebraska to the place where everybody respects you,” Isaac said. “And that’s what we’re going to get done.”
The Huskers open Aug. 31 against UTEP. Their first major conference test is Oct. 26 at No. 2 Ohio State. The closing stretch against Southern California (road), Wisconsin (home) and Iowa (road) will
be a challenge. The nonconference highlight is Sept. 7 at home when they try to avenge last year’s loss to old rival Colorado.
