2024 Arizona Quarterback Dylan Raiola Decommits From Ohio State
Ohio State suffered a massive decommitment on Saturday afternoon when Chandler, Ariz., five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola announced he is reopening his recruitment.
The 6-foot-3 and 220-pound Raiola, who is considered the top-rated signal-caller and No. 1 overall prospect in the class of 2024, committed to the Buckeyes on May 9 after building a strong relationship with head coach Ryan Day and quarterbacks coach Corey Dennis.
He was firmly committed to the program for the last seven months and had the goal of building a top-rated class, which just added Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna Prep five-star receiver Jeremiah Smith earlier this week to secure the No. 1 and No. 2 players in the cycle.
However, something changed in the last few days, as Raiola notably removed all mentions of Ohio State – and deleted his commitment video – from his social media profiles.
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The reason for his latest decision remains to be seen, but it's worth noting Raiola's decommitment comes just three days after the Buckeyes secured a pledge from Pierre (S.D.) T.F. Riggs four-star quarterback Lincoln Kienholz in the class of 2023.
That wasn't expected to have any impact on Raiola, as the two would have conceivably battled to be the starting quarterback in 2024 or 2025, depending on what happens over the next few seasons with sophomore Kyle McCord and freshman Devin Brown.
Perhaps Kienholz’s commitment coupled with new Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule’s recent decision to retain his uncle, Donovan Raiola, as offensive line coach played a bigger role than many – including the Ohio State staff – imagined it would.
The Cornhuskers now become the favorites in Raiola’s recruitment going forward given that relationship, as well as the fact that his father, Dominic Raiola, was a consensus first-team All-American center and Rimington Award winner at Nebraska in 2000.
Meanwhile, this marks the second consecutive cycle that the first player to commit to the Buckeyes has backed off his pledge, joining 2023 Thompson's Station (Tenn.) Independence four-star tight end Ty Lockwood, who flipped to Alabama.
Where Ohio State goes from here is truly anyone’s guess, as the only uncommitted quarterback in the class of 2024 with an offer is Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day School five-star Jadyn Davis.
The Buckeyes were once viewed as the favorite in his recruitment, but that changed once Raiola jumped on board, and now he’s trending toward Michigan. They'll have some work to do if they hope to get back in that race as he heads toward a decision in the coming months.
There’s also Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity Christian Academy four-star Colin Hurley, who went toe-to-toe with Raiola during a one-day camp over the summer to earn an offer from Ohio State. He was a year behind Raiola at that time but has since reclassified and committed to LSU.
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