In the 2024 recruiting class, Dylan Raiola committed to the Ohio State football program for about 48 hours. At that time, the Buckeyes had both Raiola and Jeremiah Smith committed to them. That meant that they had the number one quarterback and the number one receiver in the country at one point.
As everyone who is a fan of the Ohio State Buckeyes knows, Raiola de-committed rather quickly. He then committed to Georgia before ultimately changing his commitment again to Nebraska. As a true freshman, he led the Cornhuskers to just a 7-6 record.
He had only 13 touchdown passes to 11 interceptions in a season that was very up-and-down. He was tormented against the Buckeyes in the Shoe, only throwing for 152 yards. This season, as a sophomore, Raiola is under a ton of pressure to perform.
Former Ohio State football commit Dylan Raiola is under a lot of pressure to perform
Raiola will have a better team than he did a year ago, which is why the pressure has increased for him. Nebraska fans have been waiting for them to put together a winner, and it has been way too long for them to continue to be patient. Fans of the Buckeyes will continue to root for him to fail, though.
While he has a lot of talent, the talent around him also has to be good in order for him to succeed. The Cornhuskers won't have to face Ohio State this season, so that is a good thing. That means that he won't have another fan base that despises him like the Buckeyes do.
Clearly, it was the right decision not to bring him in for the 2024 season. Ohio State won the national championship with Will Howard as the starter. Raiola still has time to develop into a great quarterback, but he has to perform this season.