Kirk Herbstreit Pushes Back On Speculation He Drove Top QB Recruit To Nebraska
Kirk Herbstreit is denying he had much at all to do with Dylan Raiola committing to Nebraska.
Raiola -a top five star recruit - stunned the college football world when he decommitted from Georgia to play for his dad Dominic's alma mater.
It was a huge recruiting coup for Matt Rhule and the Cornhuskers. The situation took a very unexpected turn when Dominic appeared to indicate Kirk Herbstreit drove his son to commit to Nebraska.
"He said, 'Dude is this true? He got to do it. He got to do it,'" Dominic claimed in now viral comments. However, the ESPN star has a slightly different recollection of what happened.
Kirk Herbstreit denies pushing Dylan Raiola to Nebraska.
Herbstreit spoke with Paul Finebaum about the situation, and while he admitted there was a phone call with Dylan's dad, his framing of the conversation is very different.
"I, of course, did not try to sell Nebraska and try to tell anybody not to go to Georgia. That’s the most ridiculous thing that anybody would try to do. But I did compliment Matt Rhule. If I’m guilty of anything, I said that Matt Rhule is a good coach and he’s a good man. And I believe he will bring Nebraska back the way he did Temple and Baylor, Herbstreit explained.
The former Ohio State QB claimed he was really just focused on the family's legacy and connection to Lincoln during the call. Nothing more. Nothing less.
You can listen to his explanation below, and decide for yourself what you think.
What is the truth? There's only two people who know, and it's the two people who were on the phone call: Dominic Raiola and Kirk Herbstreit.
Their versions aren't even that similar. Dominic claims Herbstreit was a major factor in guiding his son to Lincoln. Herbstreit says that's not even close to what happened, and it was simply a friendly call.
As the "GameDay" personality noted, he's not even good friends with Dominic Raiola. Would a man let a guy he doesn't know well dictate his son's recruitment? It's certainly a bit bizarre.
Kirk Herbstreit responds to speculation he pushed Dylan Raiola to commit to Nebraska. (Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)
The good news for Nebraska fans is none of this really matters. Dylan Raiola is on the roster and could easily be QB1 for the Cornhuskers when week one rolls around. Let me know what you think of this situation at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.