Dylan Raiola gives Georgia a top arm talent

The top-ranked quarterback prospect in the 2024 cycle came off the board on Monday, when Dylan Raiola announced his commitment to Georgia. The one-time Ohio State pledge chose the Bulldogs over USC and Nebraska among many others.

Raiola adds another headliner to Georgia’s 2024 class, which already ranked No. 1 in On3’s Industry Football Team Recruiting Rankings. The 6-foot-3, 230-pounder debuted as the No. 1 overall prospect in the initial 2024 On300 in March of 2022. He would eventually become the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2024 On3 Industry Rankings. Currently ranked as the No. 7 overall prospect in the On300, Raiola is one of five Five-Star Plus+ in the 2024 cycle.

Let’s get into what Dylan Raiola brings to the back-to-back national champions.

Dylan Raiola is a top arm talent

Dylan Raiola debuted as the No. 1 overall prospect in On3’s initial 2024 On300 in large part due to his notable arm talent. He has easy arm strength with the ability to drive throws to all levels of the field. Raiola has fluid and relaxed upper body mechanics. There is little to no strain in his throwing motion. His release is quick and easily replicable. The football jumps out of his hand. He’s a prospect who has no issues throwing the wider NFL-issued football. When his lower body is in concert, he has arguably the strongest arm in the cycle.

Raiola’s pliable arm allows him to make some high level throws even when is feet aren’t set. There are times where he almost looks more comfortable throwing from off platform as opposed to a traditional dropback.

The arm talent paired with the flashes of playmaking ability he showed as a sophomore at Burleson High School in Texas led to his early rise in the rankings and provided a tantalizing look at what he could become with further on-field development and progression.

Fit within Georgia’s offense

Dylan Raiola has been the top target for Georgia dating back to a camp showing in Athens following his freshman season. His palpable arm strength could provide Georgia with a vertical passing element that should pair well with their downhill run game. It’s not hard to imagine Raiola’s arm being able to activate deep areas of the field while operating off of play action in new offensive coordinator Mike Bobo’s scheme.

While Raiola caught our eye with his playmaking ability as a sophomore, he was much more of an in-structure player as a junior at Chandler High in Arizona. While the junior year was not as impressive as his sophomore campaign, he did get some experience playing as more of a distributor than a playmaker. From a talent perspective, he should be protected well by Georgia’s offensive line and run game and help elevate what should be a talented receiver room.

From a fit perspective, the hope would be that Raiola resembles another Mike Bobo pupil – Matthew Stafford. Not only did Stafford star at Georgia under Bobo before becoming a No. 1 draft pick and Super Bowl winner, he was teammates with Raiola’s father, Dominic, on the Detroit Lions. The younger Raiola models much of his game after Stafford. Granted, Matthew Stafford is a high bar. He was a generational quarterback prospect out of high school and was not only a top physical talent, but a highly accomplished high school player before heading to Athens.

Questions heading into the fall

On3 was the first national outlet to tab Dylan Raiola as the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2024 cycle. We’ve been high on his ability and upside for some time. He now ranks as the No. 7 overall prospect and No. 1 quarterback in what looks to be one of the weaker cycles at the position in a few years. With that said, there are some questions around his evaluation heading into his senior season.

Raiola simply did not look as comfortable as a junior at Chandler when compared to his sophomore year at Burleson. There was less playmaking and overall confidence in the play. Some of his throws tended to hang and many of the big gains came on busted coverages and runs after the catch.

We also want to see more mobility. Quarterback is becoming an increasingly athletic position. The ability to escape pressure and pick up yardage on the ground at the high school level is very telling when projecting future top draft picks. Raiola’s -82 rushing yards as a junior would be a massive outlier relative to nearly any NFL Draft pick at the position, let alone a first-rounder. For comparison, the last 26 first-round quarterbacks averaged 634 rushing yards as seniors. I have not seen a quarterback with negative rushing yards taken highly in recent history. He’s a bigger-bodied quarterback with the last verified weight coming in at 228 pounds over a year ago. Anthony Richardson was the biggest first-round quarterback in recent memory as a high school senior, checking in at 225 pounds (while running a verified 4.50 40).

There’s still a bunch of evaluation points left for Dylan Raiola and the 2024 quarterbacks. For starters, should see Raiola alongside his peers at the Elite 11 Finals this summer. Most importantly, we’re looking forward to seeing how Raiola plays as a senior at Pinnacle High in Phoenix – his third high school program in as many years. Hopefully, we’ll have some clarity on whether the sophomore or junior season was more indicative of the type of player he is long term. Ultimately how he plays as a senior along with the rest of the 2024 quarterbacks will be the key driver in the final rankings.

Regardless of how things ultimately shake out, Georgia has landed its top target at the position and the leader in the clubhouse for the top passer in the 2024 cycle.