Did Dylan Raiola commit to Ohio State? Revisiting Nebraska QB's recruitment

Ohio State football on Saturday will look to bounce back from its first loss of the year against then-No. 3 Oregon in Week 7.

The opponent for the fourth-ranked Buckeyes (5-1 overall, 2-1 in Big Ten) comes at home against Nebraska (5-2, 2-2), a resurgent team under coach second-year Matt Rhule that boasts a quarterback with whom Ryan Day and his staff are familiar.

The Buckeyes defense will be tasked with stopping Cornhuskers true freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola, who has proven adept in leading the Cornhuskers to a 5-2 record through seven games. This should come as no surprise to the Buckeyes, as they not only recruited him out of high school, but also briefly had his commitment two years ago.

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Here's a look back at Raiola's high school recruitment process, including how he landed at Nebraska:

Was Dylan Raiola committed to Ohio State?

Yes, Raiola was the first commitment to Ohio State's 2024 recruiting class, verbally announcing his commitment to the Buckeyes in May 2022 after his sophomore year of high school. Following Raiola's commitment, Ohio State received commitments from Jeremiah Smith and Garrett Stover, which set up Ryan Day and Co. with a strong freshman class.

Raiola officially visited Ohio State on Sept. 3, 2022 — against Notre Dame at Ohio Stadium — where well-known Buckeyes fan LeBron James talked to him and other recruits.

However, Raiola decommitted from the Buckeyes on Dec. 17, 2022.

One potential reason behind Raiola's decision to back out of his commitment to Ohio State was his potential order in the depth chart. At the time of his decommitment, Ohio State had Kyle McCord as the Buckeyes' expected starter in 2023, with Devin Brown as his backup. The Buckeyes also signed four-star quarterback Lincoln Kienholz to their 2023 recruiting class.

"I have a lot of respect (for) their program and for what Coach Day did and still does," Raiola said of Ohio State earlier this week on facing the Buckeyes, per the Omaha World-Herald. "I'm happy where I'm at today, but it'll be fun to go back and kinda be on the other side. (I'll) see some guys after the game and it'll be a cool atmosphere to go into."

Dylan Raiola recruitment, revisited

Following his decommitment from Ohio State, Raiola committed to Kirby Smart and Georgia. He announced his commitment to the Bulldogs in May 2023.

The 6-foot-3 quarterback was not committed to the Bulldogs for that long, however: He decommitted from Georgia in December 2023 following Carson Beck's announcement he would return to Athens for another season instead of testing the NFL draft.

Raiola then committed to Nebraska — who originally recruited him during the Scott Frost era — on Dec. 18 with a post on X (formerly Twitter) that included a poem.

With his commitment to the Cornhuskers, Raiola continued his family legacy at Nebraska: His father, former Detroit Lions center Dominic Raiola, was a redshirt freshman on the Cornhuskers' 1997 national championship team. He played three seasons for Nebraska from 1998-2000 before being selected in the second round of the 2001 NFL draft.

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Dylan Raiola 247Sports ranking

• Star rating: 5-star recruit

• National ranking: | No. 21

• Positional ranking: No. 3 QB

• State ranking: No. 3 player from the state of Georgia

Raiola was ranked as a five-star recruit and the No. 21 nationally ranked quarterback in the 2023 recruiting class according to his 247Sports Composite ranking page.

Dylan Raiola stats

• Passing: 141 of 213 passing (66.2%) for 1,592 yards (227.4 ypg) and nine touchdowns to six interceptions

Raiola has shown himself capable leading Nebraska's offense as a true freshman — throwing for nine touchdowns to just two interceptions in his first five games — but has experienced something of a drop-off in recent weeks.

In Nebraska's last two games, he combined to complete 41 of 71 passes (57.7%) for 368 yards and four interceptions. Those two games saw Nebraska beat Rutgers 14-7 on Oct. 5 and lose to Indiana, 56-7, on Oct. 19.

Whether he can have a resurgence against Day, Will Howard and the Buckeyes remains to be seen.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Was Dylan Raiola committed to Ohio State? Revisiting QB's recruitment