Georgia loses five star recruit to Nebraska?

Dec. 26—It's called flipping and it happens a lot. High schoolers commit to a program and at the last second "flip" and sign with another school. Number eight ranked recruit and Buford High School quarterback Dylan Raiola has done just that, but his decision comes as a shock to many.

Raiola announced on December 18 via X, formerly known as Twitter, that he de-committed from powerhouse Georgia and signed with Nebraska, arguably leaving the opportunity to play for multiple national championships behind.

The only way anyone can understand Raiola's move from recent back-to-back champion Georgia to a Cornhuskers program that hasn't been relevant since the 1990's is to look at his family. Raiola's father was an All-American o-lineman at Nebraska and his uncle is the current o-line coach for the Cornhuskers. Railola himself grew up rooting for Nebraska and is deeply rooted in the Cornhuskers program.

We have seen a lot of kids make a college decision based on family ties. Eli Manning went to Ole Miss just like Archie and Antonio Gates and his son both attended Michigan State. From that perspective, the move for Raiola isn't too surprising. What makes his flip so shocking is how committed the young QB had seemed to be to the Bulldogs.

Raiola played high school football in Texas and Arizona before moving to Georgia to play for Buford High School. The cross country move was seen as a step for Raiola to be closer to Athens. Raiola played much of this season with a red Georgia headband on. A cross county move seems like a large commitment to make to then switch to the mid-west last minute. Then again, Raiola is used to this sort of thing by now.

Throughout his high school career, Raiola has played for four different high schools, playing for Burleson in Texas, then Chandler and Pinnacle in Arizona before coming to Buford in Georgia. Nebraska is his third college commitment and his second in 2023. He was originally committed to Ohio State before recommitting to Georgia in May of this year.

Raiola did have some strong words to say about both Nebraska and Georgia. About the Cornhuskers, Raiola remarked that Nebraska is "in my blood" and noted the history and legacy of Nebraska football. He also displayed firm faith in Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule.

About Georgia, Railola released a poem on social media. The post indirectly described what Raiola's role with Georgia would have been as a "cog in some powerhouse machine." The dramatic poem described Raiola as "a quarterback, with an even grander ambition unseen."

Regardless of the reasoning, Raiola has signed with Nebraska and now looks to be dead set on bringing the Cornhuskers back to glory.