Does Dylan Raiola commitment signify that Nebraska football is back?

What a week it's been for Nebraska football. After weeks of rumors and speculation, Dylan Raiola officially flipped from Georgia to the Cornhuskers and signed with Nebraska on Wednesday.

With the commitment of Raiola and eventual signing, Nebraska inked a top 25 recruiting class on 247Sports and a top 20 group in the composite. He is the top Nebraska commit of all time, surpassing Marlon Lucky in the 2005 class. He is the best quarterback to ever commit to Nebraska and it feels like Matt Rhule is changing the narrative in Lincoln.

For years, Nebraska was considered one of the mid-level teams in the Big Ten. Rhule took over after an underwhelming Scott Frost tenure and he's already rebuilding the roster.

For those who were disappointed with Rhule's first season in Lincoln, you have to keep in mind that it takes him a year or two to build programs back up. He was 1-11 in his first year at Baylor before going to a New Year's Six bowl shortly after and then getting an NFL job. So if you were worried about a bowl-less 2023 season, don't be. All four of the losses in the last month of the season were by a single score. Those could have all easily been wins.

Nebraska landed four four-star recruits and a five-star. Raiola bought in to Rhule despite the Cornhuskers going 5-7 last year.

Does this mean the tides are turning in Lincoln?

I would argue yes. Although Raiola is a legacy recruit and it's not totally shocking that he would commit to his dad's alma mater, it shows that Nebraska is closer to being back than it has been in over a decade.

The program has some juice right now and Rhule is doing exactly what everyone expected him to do when he was hired. Don't be surprised if Nebraska wins 8-10 games in 2024 and then makes a run at the playoff in 2025 with Raiola starting under center.