TRENDING: For Dylan Raiola, a 5-star quarterback recruit from Nebraska, starting as a freshman is “very doable.”

From now until the Cornhuskers play UTEP at Memorial Stadium on August 31 to begin the 2024 regular season, all eyes will be on the Nebraska quarterback room.

Matt Rhule and company had an exciting conclusion to their 2024 recruiting campaign. Five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola, a Huskers legacy prospect who was committed to Georgia at the moment, gained significant attention in December.

The outstanding signal-caller switched his allegiance to the Huskers on December 18, about a week later, and a few days after, he signed with the Big Ten program. Nebraska fans will be happy to hear that a five-star gunslinger has arrived, but can the 230-pound, 6-foot-2.5 player really be expected to make an immediate impression in Lincoln?

Sean Callahan, a Nebraska insider, says the answer is unquestionably yes. As a freshman, the No. 3 quarterback in the 2024 cycle undoubtedly has a route to the starting position.

“I think if there were Vegas odds put out, he’d be the overwhelming favorite to be the guy,” Callahan told On3’s Josh Newberg and J.D. PicKell on Wednesday.

The Huskers are eager for their next outstanding quarterback to suit up in red and white. Raiola is thought by many to be able to satisfy that need. According to Charles Power, Director of Scouting and Rankings at On3, he is a “2024 signee primed to make an instant impact.”

“In addition to being Nebraska’s clear quarterback of the future, Raiola may indeed be the Huskers’ quarterback of the present next fall,” Power wrote. “Raiola’s size, arm talent and ability to quickly pick up offensive schemes would put him in a position to compete for playing time regardless of the situation.”

The competition for Nebraska’s starting position in 2024

Raiola will not, however, be given this position just because he made the decision to switch to the Huskers in the closing stages of his recruitment. At Wednesday’s National Signing Day news conference in Nebraska, Rhule made that message quite evident when interacting with reporters.

“None of those guys in the locker room care about how highly ranked you were in recruiting, and they certainly don’t care about how many touchdowns you threw in high school,” Rhule said. “They don’t care about how you played last year. They care about what you’re doing right now. They’re very much in the moment.”

After participating in 10 games and earning eight starts in the previous season, Heinrich Haarberg has returned to Nebraska. He threw seven touchdowns and 967 yards of total passing yards, but he also had seven interceptions. In the 2024 class, the Huskers also added three-star quarterback Daniel Kaelin of Bellevue, Nebraska.

“Daniel Kaelin is here as an Elite 11 freshman as well, but obviously Raiola possesses better physical tools right now with where he’s at. Then Heinrich Haarberg does return, who started eight games last year — he won five games … so (Raiola) will have to beat out a guy like Haarberg, but I think that’s very doable at this point,” Callahan said.

“They struggled because they didn’t have the quarterback play they needed to win down the stretch in the big games in this league.”