The Nebraska Cornhuskers signed their first player for 2026 on Sunday, three-star quarterback (Rivals) Dayton Raiola from Buford High School (Georgia). Dayton is the younger brother of current Husker quarterback Dylan Raiola.

HuskerMax spoke to Raiola about his decision. Click here HERE if you want to see this before watching the movie review.

Following the announcement, I put together a review of Nebraska’s newest addition. Here are the good points and some of the things Raiola needs to work on.

Good:

• Throwing on the run: Nebraska’s newest recruit is very talented when it comes to throwing on the run. As a left-handed quarterback, he typically rolls out to his left and does a good job of throwing on the run to the left side of the field and even over the middle. He’s especially good when he rolls out after a play-action fake following a targeted boot.

• Arm angle: He is very similar to his brother in decision making. Those quick decisions to change his arm angles are impressive as he throws a solid ball from the side arm angle. Not everyone can throw from that arm angle, especially as a secondary throwing angle. He is exceptional at it.

• Decision making: To add to what was said before, he doesn’t seem to make a lot of misjudgments. He can see the whole field rather than relying on one judgment. He and his brother did this well at the high school level. This plays into the arm angle category. Depending on the throw, he has a different angle, which means he has to make decisions quickly.

• Arm strength: Raiola’s long ball isn’t perfect, but he has great arm strength. The problem isn’t whether he can throw the ball far enough, because he can. Raiola can easily throw a 50-yard pass right now, even though he still has another year of high school left.

Things to work on:

• Speed/Dual Threat Ability: Raiola can move with his legs, but it’s very limited. Even comparing him to his brother, I have to give him the edge. He’s not an exceptional athlete when it comes to running, but he’s not the most sculpted quarterback in the pocket either. He’s better at throwing on the run than catching the ball and running with it. That’s something that can improve over time, but nothing that scouts will rave about.

• Too much air under the ball: The long ball is a gamble with Raiola because sometimes it almost looks like the ball is thrown way too high in the air, which isn’t always bad, but it’s not always good either. This gives defenders who are in the zone more chances to catch up unless it’s a really long ball over 55 yards or so. This will improve under quarterback coach Glenn Thomas at Nebraska.

• Spiral: With Raiola, the ball is not always in a spiral. He still gets the ball there, but he seems to lose his rhythm a little at times. It’s not always a big problem, but it could be a deciding factor in some one-on-one situations.

To watch his film yourself, click here HERE.

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