Dayton Raiola shines and predicting Nebraska’s next commitment

Nebraska football fans should feel better about the commitment of Dayton Raiola after watching his season-opening performance for high school power Buford in a 20-13 win over Milton, the team that won the Georgia state championship the past two years (in that division).

Milton had won 25 games in a row before Buford, quarterbacked by Raiola, the younger brother of Nebraka football starting quarterback, Dylan Raiola.

Dayton Raiola had a solid outing, starting the game 9-for-13 for 141 yards and a touchdown. He threw an interception and did most of his damage in the first half; however, according to Bryan Munson of Husker Online, Raiola “Checked all the boxes” on Thursday night.

Not only did the three-star Nebraska football commitment complete a 42-yard pass in the first half that led to one of three scoring drives with him at quarterback, but he also had a 61-yard pass that led to a pass interference call.

Raiola ran a little bit, too. Like his older brother, Dayton will never be confused for a dual threat, but he’s bigger, more athletic, and throwing the ball better as a senior.  He’s currently ranked No. 1,619 overall in the 247 Sports composite rankings for the 2027 class. Raiola is also ranked as the 96th-best quarterback.

We’ll see if that ranking improves this season. Either way, the Huskers are locked in.

Who will be the next commitment for Nebraska football?

Things have been fairly quiet for Nebraska football on the recruiting trail. The Huskers don’t have many targets on their board in the 2026 class, although things are picking up in 2027.

Once gameday visits are happening, some recruiting buzz will pick up. Nebraska football does have some potential flip targets on the radar in 2026, but in 2027, a name to know is Matt Erickson.

The 6-foot-7, 283-pound offensive tackle ranked No. 591 overall, according to the Rivals Industry Rankings, and thanks to some predictions from Sean Callahan and others, the Rivals Recruiting Prediction Machine gives the Huskers a 99-percent chance to land the No. 4 recruit in the state of Nebraska in 2027 out of Omaha.

Erickson has offers from Iowa State, Minnesota, Kansas, Kansas State, and Toledo, with other programs showing interest. Ohio State hosted him for a visit. Yet, Erickson has been on campus eight times in Nebraska.

It feels like he will be a Nebraska football commitment before too long, maybe sometime this fall.

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