Soon-to-be sophomore quarterback Dylan Raiola has the potential to be one of the best in the Big Ten under-center in 2025. Can Raiola become elite? Yes, the former 5-star had his ups and downs in 2024, but a guy can’t deny that he still has potential through the roof.
Below are breakdowns of Raiola and former Husker QBs who had promising freshmen campaigns in recent memory:
Taylor Martinez
At one time, Taylor Martinez was the story of college football as a redshirt freshman in 2010. Martinez’s electricity at Kansas State on a Thursday night made ESPN drool. T-Magic had 15 carries for 241 yards, posting four touchdowns on the ground. The Big Red only had to throw it seven times. It seemed as if Nebraska had its next Eric Crouch taking snaps.
Then, the sprained ankle against Missouri happened. From there, many have said he was never at the same speed. Although this may be true, Martinez put up some incredible numbers as a Husker.
Looking at his freshman season, he racked up 965 yards on the ground for 12 touchdowns. He threw for 1,631 yards with a 59.2 completion percentage. His 10 touchdown passes to seven interceptions was a mediocre ratio, but the excitement for the scrambler was high.
Tommy Armstrong Jr.
The former No. 15 ranked dual-threat quarterback had to step up as a redshirt freshman in the wake of Taylor Martinez’s injury. Tommy Armstrong Jr. similarly to Taylor Martinez was explosive running the zone-read.
Armstrong started eight of the nine games he appeared in during 2013. He averaged 7.4 yards per carry, posting 202 yards on the ground for two touchdowns. It was helpful that Armstrong had All-Big Ten running back Ameer Abdullah in the backfield.
His passing was a different story. Armstrong completed only 51.9 percent of his passes for 966 yards, nine touchdowns and threw eight interceptions. His passing did get better over his career, but that’s not saying much.
Adrian Martinez
Just as people thought what could’ve been with Taylor Martinez, Adrian Martinez was the same story. The former 4-star recruit gave Husker fans optimism after former head coach Scott Frost’s first season. Yep, that didn’t work out at all…
Martinez’s best overall season was as a true freshman. He threw for 2,617 yards, completing 64.6 percent of his passes. His 17 touchdowns he threw and only eight interceptions was his best ratio during his Nebraska tenure.
Now looking at Raiola
Raiola threw for 2819 yards, breaking the freshman single-season passing record formerly held by Adrian Martinez. Raiola’s 67.1 completion percentage was better than any on this list of quarterbacks as freshmen. The downside to the former 5-star’s resume in comparison is his touchdown-to-interception ratio, coming in at 13-11.
The three above were scramblers, Raiola is clearly not. He had 50 attempts for -65 yards on the ground, but in college football, a sack is counted as a rush. Raiola was sacked 27 times this past season and some were his fault. If he can learn to improvise just a bit, success will come with it.
When comparing Taylor Martinez, Tommy Armstrong Jr. and Adrian Martinez the biggest thing to look at is the completion percentage. Although the three scramblers made plays with its legs, their passing style was different. Adrian Martinez could somewhat be an exception, but his competition percentage dropped five percent in his sophomore season.
The biggest thing for Raiola is making the jump. With Dana Holgorsen now having a whole offseason, it’s time to see a vast improvement with the trajectory that Raiola has. His tools are there to be the best-throwing quarterback the Huskers have ever had.