I saw
Dylan Raiola
play Friday night. It was more than just play – he dominated, he looked like a million bucks doing it and I’m happy we moved him to No. 1 in the 2024 rankings. The Chandler, Ariz., quarterback is good enough to be in consideration for the top billing in the 2023 class as well.
Raiola was great this summer at the Steve Clarkson QB Retreat but with pads on he looks like a mix between
Justin Fields
and
Patrick Mahomes
. He’s the same height and about 10 pounds lighter than those two NFL quarterbacks, but Raiola has a phenomenal frame and absolutely looks the part.
The 2024 five-star transferred from Burleston, Texas, to Chandler for his junior season and is already the unequivocal leader of the team – even leading the group in prayer after the game. In a blowout, he was the first guy congratulating the subs when they did something well. It didn’t come off as phony or forced.
The reason Chandler was up so much was because Raiola is absolutely phenomenal at running an offense. He checks at the line. He moves people around. And with the ball in his hands he’s phenomenal throwing short stuff (like when he lobbed a beautiful screen pass over the defensive line) or bombing it down the field.
Not only does he make it all look so easy but Raiola also makes it look like many of today’s NFL quarterbacks. It’s uncanny how similar he looks to Mahomes on the field with the off-platform throws, off-balance throws, sidearm delivery when needed and just the right amount of gunslinger mixed in with responsible decision-maker.
There are others I really like in the 2024 class -
Desmond Ricks
is an outstanding lockdown corner,
Jeremiah Smith
is a dominant, high-level receiver and
Colin Simmons
is a great edge rusher. But I don’t think it’s all that close right now.
Raiola comes from an NFL pedigree as his father, Dominic, was a second-round NFL Draft pick and played for more than a decade with the Detroit Lions. His uncle, Donovan, played in the league and now coaches at
Nebraska.
We thought so highly of
Texas QB
Quinn Ewers
that when he reclassified to 2021, we moved him to No. 1 in the class. There’s no indication Raiola is considering such a move but if he did, that same thought would cross my mind - even with Texas QB commit
Arch Manning
the current No. 1 player in 2023.