EUGENE - Dylan Raiola has spent most of his football life as the guy. Not anymore.
For the first time he can remember, the former five-star quarterback is starting a season in a role that isn’t his by default. At Oregon, he’s backing up Dante Moore, and that has forced a different kind of adjustment for a player who has usually been the center of the conversation.
“Ummmmm…,” he said, pausing when asked to remember the last time he opened a season not as a starter. “I don’t think it’s ever happened.”
That’s the reality now for Raiola, who transferred to Oregon after two seasons as Nebraska’s starter. He arrived with plenty of pedigree and even more expectations, but this stop is about patience, perspective and, as he put it, sacrifice.
“It’s something new, but I know change is good and especially at a place like this,” Raiola said. “I’m more than willing to sacrifice for the greater good.”
Raiola was the No. 2-rated quarterback in the country coming out of Buford, Georgia, in 2024. He first committed to Georgia, then landed at Nebraska, where he threw for 4,819 yards and 31 touchdowns in 22 starts before breaking his fibula on Nov. 1, 2025, against USC and ending his season.
He entered the transfer portal that December, then committed to Oregon on Jan. 12, 2026, two days before Moore announced he would bypass the NFL Draft and return.
Dan Lanning made the situation plain to Raiola before he signed on. Moore could come back, and if he did, he would be the starter.
Raiola still chose Oregon, seeing value in a year behind Moore the same way Moore benefited from sitting behind Dillon Gabriel in 2024 after a rough freshman year at UCLA in 2023.
Moore said he embraced Raiola right away, both as a teammate who could challenge him and as someone he could help bring along - with golf in the mix, too.
“At the end of the day, we’ve been pushing ourselves and making sure that we all attack it and never be a cancer to the team,” Moore said.
Raiola framed his role simply: help Moore chase his goals, and the Ducks’ bigger goals become more attainable.
“I know he’s going to do great things this year for the Ducks and hopefully we’ll all be a part of something special,” Raiola said.
There’s still a long way to go for Raiola, and Oregon isn’t pretending otherwise. Moore earned his opportunity by proving he could handle the job in 2024, and Raiola now has to show he can do the same if he wants to be a real option for 2027.
If Moore leaves for the NFL after the 2026 season, Oregon will need to know what it has. If Raiola doesn’t emerge, the Ducks could look for a veteran transfer.
There’s also the possibility Raiola could leave to play somewhere else, though Lanning doesn’t sound worried about that.
“I think there’s always a looming threat, but not with Dylan,” Lanning said.
Lanning has liked what he’s seen so far, especially the work Raiola has put into reshaping himself physically and mentally.
“Dylan’s done an unbelievable job changing his body, working really hard,” Lanning said. “He’s got unbelievable talent.
He’s a really smart player. He has the opportunity to get exposed to our system.”
Raiola said the transition to Oregon’s offense was rocky at first, but the extra work over the summer helped him settle in. He also arrived lighter than he had been at Nebraska, where he was listed at 6-foot-3, 230 pounds. At media day on Aug. 3, he said he was closer to 220.
That showed up in his movement, too.
“Probably the best I’ve ever felt,” he said.
For Oregon, that’s a pretty good problem to have: a sharp, lean, fast backup with 22 starts already on his résumé. Raiola knows the value of being ready, even if the opportunity is only hypothetical right now.
“I’m just preparing like anything can happen,” Raiola said.
New offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer praised Raiola’s approach, saying he has stopped leaning on talent alone and taken charge of his own development.
“It takes a sense of humility to be him,” Mehringer said. “And so I have a lot of respect for him and for what he’s done and how he’s integrated into this team.”
Raiola’s path to Eugene is full of twists, and Moore’s is too. Oregon recruited Raiola in 2024, but he chose Nebraska rather than sit behind Moore and Gabriel. Moore, meanwhile, originally committed to Oregon out of high school, then opted for a starting job at UCLA instead of backing up Bo Nix in 2023.
Both quarterbacks have said they might have been better off learning as freshmen. Moore’s decision to do that in 2024 paid off last season, when he led Oregon to the College Football Playoff semifinals.
Raiola and Moore both hope other blue-chip quarterbacks take something from their stories.
“Following in his footsteps while also paving my own path through this whole thing, I think is going to be crucial,” Raiola said of Moore. “Not only for myself but for people that you know kind of see this journey that I’m currently on right now.”
The Oregon connection has long been personal for Raiola, too. Born in Hawaii, he grew up dreaming about the Ducks and admiring the Oregon quarterbacks from Hawaii who came before him: Jeremiah Masoli, Marcus Mariota and Gabriel.
The idea of doing what they did at Autzen still gets to him.
“I think it would be special,” he said.
There’s also a family angle that makes this season even more meaningful. Raiola’s younger brother, freshman tight end Dayton Raiola, is on the roster, and the brothers connected for a touchdown in a spring scrimmage.
“It’s a dream come true for my entire family, not only my parents and my sister, but for all of our family,” Dylan Raiola said. “Me and my brother were always best friends growing up. And so, for us to have this opportunity, once in a lifetime to play at a place like this together, means everything.”
A touchdown pass from Dylan to Dayton that counts in the box score could come this season or next.
For now, though, Raiola’s focus is narrower: do whatever he can for a team he believes has the best chemistry he’s ever been around.
“Everyone’s aware of what we have, what we can do,” he said. “But I think what’s going to separate us from other teams is how connected we are as a group on the field and also off the field.”
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Dylan Raiola Faces A Different Test As His Oregon Chapter Begins
Dylan Raiolas move from Nebraska to Oregon has brought the kind of attention that follows him everywhere, but this latest chapter is less about the spotlight and more about what he does with it. Oregon coach Dan Lanning has liked the way Raiola has handled the scrutiny, and there is real value in that as he settles into a new setting and tries to establish himself in a quarterback room that already has plenty of competition.
Raiola also arrives with two years of eligibility left, which gives Oregon some runway to see where he fits as this situation develops. The Ducks are still evaluating how the pieces line up behind center, and Raiolas next challenge is not just learning the offense but proving he can turn steady practice work and steadying presence into something more in a crowded race. [Read more 🡒]
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