Steven Sipple: Matt Rhule praises Nebraska rookie QB Dylan Raiola’s “unique feel for the game”; and Trev’s words could haunt him

Things I know, and things I think I know: If you’re a Nebraska football fan, you don’t have to worry about Dylan Raiola’s rookie status being a hindrance this coming season, or his level of maturity being too low for such a grand stage. He can handle the job and all it entails at NU. Yes, right now. As a true freshman.

I keep saying that stuff, and I believe it strongly.

Nebraska second-year head coach Matt Rhule essentially told us why such thoughts are valid in an interview with analyst Joel Klatt of FOX.

“Dylan’s talent is only matched by who he is as a person,” said Rhule, who brought up Raiola’s father, former Detroit Lions center Dominic Raiola. “Obviously, his father was a great Husker. His father played 14 years in the NFL as an offensive lineman — the most unselfish position that there is — as a center.”

In short, Raiola comes from an excellent family, and Rhule emphasizes that part of the overall equation. But it’s more than that.

“At the end of the day, it comes down to the football part, and Dylan has a unique feel for the game,” Rhule told Klatt. “He’s really, really smart.”

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Rhule points out Raiola’s strong work ethic

Make no mistake, the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Raiola has excellent command at the line of scrimmage. He understands protections. He understands defenses. He reads it all well. Bottom line, he wants to be an NFL star and knows getting there requires more than just massive arm talent — which, by the way, he possesses.

But it’s also more than all that.

“You always hear Tom Brady and those guys talk about how when your best players work the hardest, you have a great team,” Rhule said. “Well, Dylan’s one of those guys who tries to work the hardest.”

It should be noted that Raiola doesn’t exactly have a tough act to follow as Nebraska’s (potential) starting quarterback. To wit: Three Nebraska quarterbacks last season combined for 10 touchdown passes, with 16 interceptions. It was horrendous. Turnover issues at the position killed any chances for the Huskers to have a special season.

You don’t have to be a football savant to understand the detrimental nature of turnovers.

“People talk about turnovers last year, which we should,” said Rhule, whose first Nebraska team tied Georgia Southern for the nation’s lead with 31 of them. “But I go back and say, ‘If we can throw the ball better …

“‘If we can complete third-and-five. If we’re not throwing interceptions. If we can be more aggressive because we trust our decision-making.'”

That’ll be the challenge for not only Raiola, but also for backups Heinrich Haarberg and Daniel Kaelin . OK, they’re not officially backups, yet. But I think we all know the score here. And if you didn’t know the score, consider Rhule’s closing words on Raiola in this particular interview.

“He certainly has helped us raise the level of play, and I think he’s going to be a guy who all of college football knows,” the coach said.

Yes, sir, we know the score.

Rhule expects sizable jump in Year 2

It does remain to be seen how well Raiola handles adversity. There will be adversity. I’ve said it before: For a major-college quarterback, there are times when it feels like the world is collapsing around him. Yes, it can feel that profound.

However, Rhule clearly feels good about the coming season being much better than last season’s 5-7 campaign, and makes no bones about his optimism. Keep in mind, Temple and Baylor made gigantic leaps in his second year in charge of those programs — the Owls going from 2-10 to 6-6 and the Bears from 1-11 to 7-6.

“I just expect us to make a massive jump from Year 1 to Year 2,” the coach said. “And I expect our best jump to be from Year 2 to Year 3.”

I’ve spent some time around Nebraska’s program this summer. There’s an unmistakable confidence, and it starts with the leader.

“I think you go from playing losing football to winning football, and winning football to championship football,” Rhule said. “The thing I’ve said the whole time to our guys at Nebraska is, ‘Make Year 1 a Year 2, and make Year 2 and Year 3. Let’s not go through the 2-10. Let’s not fight, just buy in and do it.

“In many ways, last year was like a second year for me.”

So, then Rhule did that thing where he gets everyone’s hopes up. Hey, it’s early July. Go for it.

“I expect us to have a really good team this year,” he said. “I expect us to make some runs. I expect us to be a team that people don’t want to play.”

“I certainly expect us to be a bowl-eligible team,” he added.

He’s challenging his team to fix the turnover issue, and that conversation starts with the starting quarterback — in this case, Dylan Raiola.

We know the score here.

Here and there …

***Rhule is always incredibly convincing about how much he likes living in Nebraska. He says he appreciates hard-working people who love football. “If you’re a football guy, I can’t think of a better place to live in the country than Nebraska,” he told Klatt.

***What an incredibly strange thing for Trev Alberts to say to extremely successful Texas A&M baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle. “You know, Jim, if you ever don’t feel like this is the place for you, that’s OK, and it’s OK to move on. ” You get the feeling those words are going to haunt Alberts for years.

Part of showing maturity is knowing what not to say.

Schlossnagle is at Texas now.

Alberts surely learned a lesson.

***After further review, I don’t want to hear Nebraska fans say Chase Loftin’s decision to pick Florida State over Nebraska (and others) makes sense because the Huskers are stocked at the tight end position. Ohio State doesn’t seem to have trouble stockpiling skill talent. It’s a weak excuse.

If Loftin turned away Nebraska because it already has Thomas Fidone and Carter Nelson on the roster, then the Huskers might be better off without him. To be clear, I strongly doubt Loftin is running from competition, because the Seminoles surely have plenty of it waiting for him.

***Film review: Houston Kaahaaina-Torres blocks opponents to the ground, then stares down at them, and doesn’t necessarily help them up. That’s fine with me.

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