Matt Rhule just rewarded Dylan Raiola's faith with a major transfer portal win

Matt Rhule is serious about giving Dylan Raiola as much help as he needs to keep the Nebraska Cornhuskers as competitive as possible in the Big Ten. Rhule and the Cornhuskers are linked to one of the top defensive lineman in the transfer portal, per On3. 

According to Hayes Fawcett of On3, Nebraska received the commitment of Williams Nwaneri. Nwaneri had recently entered the transfer portal after playing his freshman season with Missouri.

What made the Cornhuskers a favorite to land the No. 7 prospect in the portal, per On3's Pete Nakos, was Jamar Mozee. Mozee was the head coach of Lee’s Summit North, where he coached Nwaneri. The Cornhuskers also signed Mozee’s son, Isaiah, who also played at Lee’s Summit North. 

Rhule had made it clear that he is doing everything he can to make Nebraska competitive and even rewarding Raiola for pledging his loyalty to Nebraska. 

Matt Rhule, Dylan Raiola ready to build for year two together as Rhule gets active in transfer portal

Dylan Raiola committed to Nebraska earlier this week as transfer portal rumors around him ramped up. It was a move that was significant for Rhule for a couple reasons. For one, he gets his quarterback locked down for at least one more year. 

And secondly, it makes recruiting, especially on offense, so much easier when recruits know who’s going to be the signal caller and a sense of stability. It speaks to the relationship between Rhule and Raiola. 

The good thing is now Rhule can truly focus on building and not rebuilding. Raiola didn’t have a great freshman season, but it’s something to build on. And Rhule continuing to put the pieces around Raiola is moving it in the right direction. 

Adding a key defender is also important for Raiola because as many weapons as they have on offense, getting a solid defender is critical. Ask his role model Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes isn’t having his best season. 

But his defense is helping them inch closer to clinching the division, a No. 1 seed in the AFC and winning a third-straight championship. The Kansas City Chiefs probably wouldn’t be half as good as they are this season if it weren’t for their defense. 

So Rhule looking out for both sides of the ball shows just how much he values Raiola and how much he values him sticking with the Cornhuskers. Especially in an era where players change teams practically every season.