Dylan Raiola, No. 1 college football recruit, taking major visits: What to expect

Dylan Raiola, the consensus No. 1 player in the 2024 college football recruiting rankings, is hitting the road and visiting some elite programs

James Parks | Mar 17, 2023

Dylan Raiola, No. 1 college football recruit, taking major visits: What to expect /

Dylan Raiola, the No. 1 quarterback in the 2024 college football recruiting rankings, is expanding his horizons with more scheduled trips this month.

The five-star signal caller will spend the next few weeks visiting five schools across the country, according to recruiting insider Chad Simmons.

More: 2024 College Football Recruiting Player Rankings

Raiola will visit with the following schools in the near future:

Georgia in the mix

Raiola had high praise for Georgia after the school won its second-straight College Football Playoff national championship and is still reportedly one of the player's four finalists.

But it's a crowded quarterback room coming into the 2023 season with a trio of high-profile players — Carson Beck, Brock Vandagriff, and Gunner Stockton — in a competition to replace Stetson Bennett.

Georgia Tech enters the picture

Georgia Tech is undergoing top-to-bottom change in the program as Brent Key moves in as head coach to replace Geoff Collins.

Buster Faulkner enters Year 1 as offensive coordinator for the Yellow Jackets and reportedly has developed a relationship with the Raiola family.

He previously served as offensive quality control assistant for quarterbacks at Georgia during its back-to-back national championship run.

Nebraska also trending for Raiola

The five-star quarterback out of Arizona was also one of the most high profile visitors to the Cornhuskers program since the hiring of new football coach Matt Rhule this offseason.

And he was welcomed by a familiar face once he got there: Raiola's uncle Donovan is Nebraska's current offensive line coach.

Dylan's father Dominic was an All-American and Rimington Trophy winner at Nebraska and his No. 54 jersey is retired by the school.

Oregon enters the fray

Bo Nix returns to the quarterback role for the Ducks this season but after that, Dan Lanning is in the market for a replacement.

Oregon signed Austin Novosad as part of its prestigious 2023 recruiting class, a consensus four-star prospect and top 10 player at the position.

Redshirt sophomore Ty Thompson, the highest-rated quarterback recruit to ever sign with Oregon, has elected to stay with the program and not transfer out, hoping that he'll get a chance to take the reins.

USC also in play

Raiola recently paid a personal visit to USC where he met with football coach Lincoln Riley and quarterback Caleb Williams.

While there, he spoke with Riley about his offensive philosophy and saw part of the Trojans' spring football practice.

Malachi Nelson is the presumptive heir to Williams after the five-star quarterback signed on with USC as part of its 2023 recruiting efforts.

A former Ohio State pledge

Initially, the quarterback announced he had committed to Ohio State as the most high-profile get for the Buckeyes' 2024 recruiting class.

But Raiola changed his mind at the start of the new year and revealed that he de-committed from Ohio State.

That surprising news re-opened the player's recruiting process in a big way and changed the course of the 2024 football recruiting cycle.

Starting from scratch

"Everything is back on the table," Raiola's father told 247Sports recruiting director Steve Wiltfong at the time.

He added, "His process is almost like it's re-starting. It's not closed off to anybody."

Standing at 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds from Phoenix, Raiola has made a name for himself as a superstar in the 2024 football recruiting class.

Dylan Raiola recruiting profile

He passed for 3,241 yards with 32 touchdown passes and rushed for nine additional scores in 12 games as a sophomore.

Raiola hit over 64 percent of his throws for 2,435 yards with 22 touchdowns with five interceptions in his junior campaign.

All four major recruiting services — 247Sports, Rivals, ESPN, and On3 Sports — call Raiola the No. 1 quarterback in the 2024 cycle.

Three of the four named him the No. 1 overall prospect in the class, with On3 dissenting, calling Raiola the No. 6 player.

Predictions for Dylan Raiola recruitment

Three main contenders have emerged for the quarterback, with USC, Nebraska, and Georgia the apparent favorites in the race.

247Sports director of football recruiting Steve Wiltfong — who has a 100 percent record making Crystal Ball predictions in the 2024 cycle — projects that Raiola will sign with USC, flipping from his original pick, Georgia.

Overall between the seven 247 analysts who made predictions, USC is receiving 55.6 percent of the vote, followed by Nebraska with 33.3 percent, and Georgia with 11.1 percent.

On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine is now siding with USC as the current favorite to land Raiola, with 46.7 percent likelihood.

RPM places Nebraska and Georgia is a close 2-3 race, with the Cornhuskers at 27.6 percent and the Bulldogs at 18.5 percent.

Ohio State places fourth at 4.9 percent on the On3 Prediction Machine.

Rivals projects Raiola with choose Georgia with 56 percent likelihood and gives Nebraska a 45 percent chance at the quarterback.

(On3)

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Published Mar 17, 2023

JAMES PARKS

James Parks is the founder and publisher of College Football HQ. He previously covered football for 247Sports and CBS Interactive. College Football HQ joined the Sports Illustrated Fannation Network in 2022.