College Football

Georgia, Dylan Raiola could break new ground together

Published May. 17, 2023 10:11 a.m. ET

For the second time in his career, the No. 1 overall prospect in the class of 2024 — Dylan Raiola — has announced where he intends to play college football.

This time he picked the University of Georgia, and even casual fans could tell you why.

UGA is the best college football program in the country. This is, of course, not new. Georgia has been an elite program for nearly a decade and performing well above .500 in most years since the dawn of the 21st century.

But, lately, no one has won like UGA has won. In an era of football that has been defined by its tumult — the advent of the transfer portal, immediate eligibility for first-time transfers, the advent and ongoing evolution of name, image and likeness rules and laws, changing membership in four of the Power 5 leagues — Georgia has become a model of sustained excellence.

Only last week, when I ranked the Bulldogs No. 1 in my post-spring football rankings, I acknowledged Georgia as the only program that has repeated as a back-to-back national title winner without its starting quarterback being selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. It's a program that has been built not because of its quarterback's talents, but in spite of them.

With Raiola's commitment, the Dawgs will have their seventh five-star quarterback in school history. But none have led UGA to a national title. Not Justin Fields, not Jacob Eason, not Aaron Murray, not Matthew Stafford, not DJ Shockley.

Now, third-year quarterback Brock Vandagriff could change this in seven months. But he'd have to get by four-year quarterback Carson Beck to even win the job, and Beck looks like the guy offensive coordinator Mike Bobo will choose to lead his offense in Year 1.

Unless Vandagriff wins the job in camp, takes over due to injury, or comes off the bench in the second half of the national title game to beat, say, Alabama, Raiola will be the next man with a chance to meet the expectations that come with being a 5-star: Winning a national title.

Many thought Fields would be that man, and he looked the part, too. With Raiola's size, tremendous arm and mobility, the comparison is apt. But will Raiola do more at UGA than Fields did?

Almost certainly. At UGA, Fields only passed for 328 yards, rushed for 266 more, and scored eight TDs in 2018. But the real measuring stick for Raiola is what Fields did after transferring to Ohio State. In 2019 with the Buckeyes, Fields passed for 3,273 yards — 11.4 yards per attempt — rushed for 484 and accounted for 51 total TDs en route to a Big Ten title and a CFP appearance.

In 2020, he played a significant role in simply getting Big Ten football to be played during COVID, then led his program to the national title game with just eight games played that season. He was also undefeated against Michigan.

This is the bar — two CFP appearances in two years, recognition as a Heisman finalist, a national title appearance, and at least one 3,200-yard passing, 450-yard rushing, 50-plus total TD season. Given Raiola's ability, these numbers should be within reach.

All of this, of course, has to sting for Ohio State fans. After all, Kirby Smart has built UGA around continuity and defensive dominance, not great quarterback play. Yet Raiola chose that over Ohio State.

He backed off his commitment after the Buckeyes lost to UGA in the Peach Bowl, a CFP semifinal, on a missed field goal. Buckeye fans might see his decision similarly to how Oklahoma City Thunder fans view Kevin Durant jumping ship to join Golden State after the Thunder lost to the Warriors in the 2016 Western Conference finals.

The Buckeyes might find themselves relieved that Raiola didn't end up at USC, where he made multiple visits and where his friend and five-star tight end Duce Robinson ended up. After beginning his high school career at Chandler (Ariz.) High School, he transferred to join Robinson at Pinnacle High School in Phoenix, the alma mater of former five-star quarterback Spencer Rattler.

But the lure of playing quarterback for Lincoln Riley wasn't enough for Raiola either. Riley, after all, has not won a national championship.

Do you know who has? Stetson Bennett. Actually, Bennett won two titles with the Bulldogs, became a living legend in the state of Georgia and was a mere fourth-round selection in the NFL Draft.

That's the bar, and Georgia fans are fine with it. Imagine that: Being happy for your five-star quarterback to be as good as the quarterback who walked on and was forced to play junior college ball just to make the team.

It's a funny sport, college football.

RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast "The Number One College Football Show." Follow him on Twitter at @RJ_Young and subscribe to "The Number One College Football Show" on YouTube.