Barring unforeseen circumstances, Dylan Raiola will spend the 2026 college football season on the bench at Oregon. The former top-10 recruit is expected to serve as the backup to incumbent starting quarterback Dante Moore.
That is if he does not use a redshirt.
Raiola’s first college football practice with the Ducks revealed a potentially concerning ball-patting habit. It depends on who you ask!
Dylan Raiola will play college football at Oregon.
Although DJ Lagway ranked as the top quarterback prospect in the recruiting Class of 2024, it was Raiola who made the most noise. The five-star recruit played at three different high schools in three different states in three years and committed to three different colleges along the way.
Raiola initially committed to Ohio State in May of 2022. He later reopened his recruitment to consider Georgia, Nebraska, Oregon and USC that next December. The Bulldogs received his commitment in May of 2023. He flipped to the Cornhuskers right before Early Signing Day.
There was a lot of hype about Dylan Raiola’s ability to lead Nebraska back to relevance but his freshman season was a rollercoaster. He threw 11 interceptions to just 13 touchdowns and the Huskers went 7-6.
Last year was a big step in the right direction. Raiola completed 72.4% of his passes for 18 touchdowns with only six interceptions in nine games. Unfortunately, a gruesome leg injury ended his season early.
Matt Rhule and the Cornhuskers did their best to keep their quarterback in Lincoln but Raiola ultimately decided to leave. The rising junior signal-caller chose to continue his career in Eugene at Oregon.
His first spring practice with the Ducks got underway last week.
Is it a bad habit to pat the ball?
I’ll be honest. I have watched a lot of Dylan Raiola over the last two years but I have never noticed his habit of patting the ball before he throws.
Perhaps it was because Nebraska ran a lot of play-action. Maybe it was less exaggerated in the past. I also could’ve missed it. Doesn’t matter.
It was this slow-mo video from his first spring practice with the Ducks that made me aware of the habit:
First look at Dylan Raiola rocking the #8 👀 🦆
— Oregon Updates (@oregon__updates) March 14, 2026
Puts it on the money pic.twitter.com/gsP60WwuVo
GASP! Is this something Raiola needs to fix?
The quarterback ball-pat was a prominent topic of discussion because of Shedeur Sanders’ Pro Day last April. Jacksonville Jaguars safety Andre Cisco said the pre-throw ball pat would allow NFL secondaries to tear him apart.
“Boy better stop patting that ball, we breaking onnat earlyyyy,” he said of Sanders.
On the other side of the debate, some of the best quarterbacks in NFL history pat the ball before they throw. That list includes Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes and Matthew Stafford.
Marcus and Mike Vick did not see an issue with the ball pat and current NFL quarterbacks do the same thing. Nobody was concerned about Cam Ward’s ball-pat at Tennessee Titans training camp last May. The initial criticism was likely because of Sanders’ last name.
Dan Lanning and Oregon might try to stop Dylan Raiola from patting the ball— but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Something to watch over the next 12 months as he continues to develop behind Moore.