Dylan Raiola Talks About All Things with Elite 11 Finals

2024 Georgia QB commit Dylan Raiola wrapped up his compeition at the Elite 11 finals. He joins Dawgs Daily to discuss Ellie 11 finals and Georgia football.

The Elite 11 finals are among the best competition-driven national events for quarterbacks, especially. Consistently hosting highly touted prospects like Matthew Stafford, Trevor Lawrence, and Dylan Raiola this year. Raiola joins Dawgs Daily to talk about all things at the Elite 11 finals and who he plans to target as recruiting begins to wrap up. 

The three-day event consisted of a variety of competitions to rate prospects in a variety of different ways. Day one consisted of a "Rail Shot Challenge," where all 20 QBs threw to a specified area on the field to test accuracy. Day two consisted of each QB's "Pro Day," which was their chance to show off their arm, throwing various routes. Finally, Day three was a 7v7 tournament for all quarterbacks, where each quarterback got four drives to score against a live defense. 

Raiola had what many would consider a shaky start day during the accuracy test but turned it around on day three, completing 13 of 16 passes and leading his team to four touchdown drives. Raiola acknowledged this -

"Obviously, a shaky start, face some adversity, but that's football - that's life. I felt God was teaching me a lesson; you just gotta bounce back from adversity; he gave me the strength to have a great seven-on-seven."

When asked about his experience, Raiola mentioned that he "will remember for the rest of his life" and was "blessed to be a part of this fraternity and just to get to meet these guys. Hearing guys' stories and everyone coming out of their comfort zone, it's been fun." 

Off-the-field activities are something that is heavily involved with football programs. Film study, meetings, and team-building activities fill a football player's time away from the field. The past three days have been no different, as all 20 QBs could participate in all of these activities, and Raiola made great points about this when talking to Dawgs Daily. 

"Through yoga and the cold plunge you gotta learn how to use your breath. Connect your body to your mind and soul. It really helped calm the nerves and be that five year old kid in the backyard throwing the football again - it is just a game."

Certain expectations are put upon you when you are rated as the No. 1 player in the country and No. 1 QB coming into this competition. Although Raiola may have underperformed these expectations, he leaves Los Angeles with a positive mindset, mentioning that "it's exciting to know I still have improvements; you always want to get better." 

The recruitment of Raiola has truly been a story that Raiola looks forward to. "Keep building my story - and it's really my whole family's story and everyone who has been with me on this journey." It is a journey that has seen some new faces, as Raiola helped land Jaden Reddell, Justin Greene, Chauncey Bowens,  and Jordan Thomas since he committed, but more players are on his mind. 

"We need to get KJ Bolden on board, Daniel Calhoun, Marques Easely - two big boys. Nate Frazier, there are a few more I'm not aware of, but man, if we get a few more in, we will be good to go." 

Alabama commit Julian Sayin won the Elite 11 Finals MVP, and the rest of the rankings will follow, but one thing is for sure, Raiola will be more than ready to compete at Georgia come 2024.