Merritt Dawson explains Nebraska football commitment, plus more Cornhuskers news

Four-star linebacker Dawson Merritt had been trending to Nebraska football for days and it felt like only a matter of time before he flipped his commitment to the Huskers.

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound linebacker out of Kansas has long been a priority target for Matt Rhule and the Huskers. They hosted Merritt for an official visit during the spring game but also brought him back in the summer and the fall.

Rhule even visited Merritt recently, which made a positive impression on the recruit. The four-star is ranked 118th overall according to the 247 Sports composite rankings and gives the Huskers an eighth-blue chip commitment. Here’s what he told Chad Simmons of On3.com why decided to flip from Alabama to Nebraska.

“I want to be a part of building something. I think that Nebraska has a bright future and I think it’d be really cool to be a part of changing that program. Then, I have great relationships there… I’m close to more than 10 guys at Nebraska. I can’t match that. I feel loved and I love a lot of those guys.”

Merritt gives the Huskers a dynamic pass rusher on the edge for the future. He’s talented enough to make an impact next season and the pairing of him with Christian Jones is huge for the future of the Blackshirts. 

Dylan Raiola ‘good to go’ against USC

Rhule said earlier that Raiola was going to “try to practice.” That caused some concern about the Nebraska football quarterbacks’ status for the USC game on Saturday.

But when Rhule met with that media on Thursday, he announced that Dylan Raiola “was good to go.” That’s good news for Nebraska fans and hopefully, the bye week, plus having a new OC will improve the offense.

Holgorsen is known as a quarterback guru of sorts who has had a ton of success throughout the years as a head coach and offensive coordinator. He’s better off working with Raiola than Heinrich Haarberg and with Dylan at QB, it feels like Nebraska football has a chance.

Another ranked win for Nebraska volleyball

It wasn’t a sweep for Nebraska volleyball on Thursday night but the Huskers still took care of business against 16th-ranked Minnesota at home with a 3-1 win by the scores of 25-12, 22-25, 25-22 and 25-19.

Nebraska was stellar on defense, limiting the Gophers to just .130 hitting. However, the Huskers were limited to a hitting percentage of .199.

The Huskers still outscored the Gophers in every statistical category, an effort led by Harper Murry who had a team-high 13 kills along with 19 digs. Taylor Landfair contributed with 12 kills for Nebraska volleyball. Andi Jackson had nine kills in addition to six blocks. Bergen Reilly was her usual stellar self with 40 assists, 20 digs, four blocks, and an ace in the win.

The Huskers are now 25-1 overall and 15-0 in the Big Ten. Next up is Indiana on Saturday at 7:30 PM CST. It will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.

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