Dylan Raiola has quickly risen to college football stardom since arriving at Nebraska in 2024 and taking over as the Cornhuskers’ starting quarterback. The former five-star recruit has played at a high level in both his freshman and sophomore seasons, emerging as one of the top quarterbacks in the country.
However, recently, another Raiola, Dayton, who is a three-star quarterback recruit in the 2026 class, has made his own headlines, leaving many fans wondering if the two Raiolas are related. Here’s everything you need to know about Dylan and Dayton’s connection.
What’s the Connection Between Dylan and Dayton Raiola?
Dylan and Dayton Raiola are, in fact, brothers. While Dylan has been leading the Nebraska offense this season, helping the unit rank 27th in the country according to PFSN’s CFB OFFi metric, Dayton has been playing quarterback at Buford High School in Buford, Georgia, as he works to build his profile as a college recruit.
Dylan committed to Nebraska out of high school in December 2023, and Dayton followed in his footsteps shortly after, committing to the Cornhuskers in September 2024.
For a while, it seemed Nebraska was set at the quarterback position for the foreseeable future with the Raiolas. However, Dayton recently made headlines by announcing that he would be decommitting from the program.
Dayton Raiola Decommits From Nebraska
On Wednesday, Rivals’ Chad Simmons reported that Dayton would no longer be following his older brother to Lincoln, and instead would be decommitting from the program and reopening his recruitment.
The move came as a surprise to many. Not only does Dayton’s older brother play for the Cornhuskers, but his father, Dominic, was also a star at Nebraska, serving as the team’s center from 1997 to 2000.
🚨BREAKING🚨 QB Dayton Raiola has decommitted from Nebraska, @ChadSimmons_ reports.
Dayton is the younger brother of Huskers QB Dylan Raiola.
Read: https://t.co/EK0MP97F82 pic.twitter.com/UJF068KHv0
— Rivals (@Rivals) November 19, 2025
Given the family’s connection to the program and their relationship with head coach Matt Rhule, it would stand to reason that Dayton would want to continue the family’s legacy in Nebraska; however, that won’t be the case.
Losing Dayton is a pretty significant hit to Nebraska’s 2026 recruiting class as Rivals’ industry rankings list him as a three-star recruit, the No. 1603 overall player in the country, the No. 99 quarterback, and the No. 158 prospect out of Georgia.
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While Nebraska currently has T.J. Lateef starting at quarterback after Dylan suffered a season-ending injury, many believed Dayton would eventually take the reins from his older brother when he arrived on campus. However, that is no longer the case, and Nebraska will now have to look elsewhere to find its quarterback of the future.
While Dylan and Dayton may be brothers, they will no longer attend the same college, marking a significant change in the family’s history with the Cornhuskers.
