What we saw: Georgia pledge Dylan Raiola organizes workout with top prospects

JEFFERSON, Ga. — Five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola could slept in Saturday morning. He could have gotten some extra shuteye, had a big breakfast, and enjoyed the red-carpet treatment as a recent Georgia commitment. He chose something different.

Instead the nation’s No. 1 prospect organized a workout for himself, a couple of Georgia commitments, and a couple of other top prospects. Raiola got Ny Carr and Sacovie White to join him at Jefferson High School where they worked out with some hometown players, including five-star linebacker Sammy Brown. Alabama pledge and stud wideout Ryan Williams was also there as well as a group of other players.

I watched them for well over a half hour and below I share some observations.

We’re talking about routes on air here but Raiola looked really sharp. The Georgia pledge hit his receivers in stride a high percentage of the time, especially on the deep throws to the outside. The ball jumps out of his hand and his motion is effortless. He showed really quick feet and I was most impressed at how he directed traffic. Raiola was in charge of the entire session.

One huge takeaway for me is the way Raiola is put together. He’s not as tall as I expected, probably a little over 6-foot-2, but he’s really well built with a big, strong lower half and an upper body that will continue to develop.
Williams is a natural catcher of the football who showed off some serious twitch. He’s a really quick route runner and I was impressed with how he explodes out of his breaks. The Alabama pledge does a nice job plucking the ball out of the air. It didn’t seem to me like he had that extra gear today but maybe he wasn’t trying to over-do it.

I was most impressed with Carr among the receivers. He’s not the biggest guy but for a receiver of small stature, he’s incredibly long with big hands. Carr, too, explodes out of his breaks and glides down the field with very little head movement, allowing him to track the ball well. He adjusted really well to a deep outside throw from Raiola and caught it over the wrong shoulder while keeping his feet in bounds. I was also impressed with how he found the extra gear to run that one down.

White is a prototypical slot receiver and return man. He’s actually a bit faster than I expected because I saw him turn on the jets a time or two as well. His quickness is his best asset. Raiola connected with him on a few in cuts that were put on the money but White made the fastballs look easy. I thought his route running was a tad sloppy at times, something he’ll get a chance to work on a lot at UGA. But he’s an incredibly athlete who probably stands right at 5-foot-9.

Brown is an elite athlete, plain and simple. Today wasn’t his setting because it was a padless deal but he still looked explosive and natural. He was running routes and tracking the ball, looking natural in the process. There are a number of positions where he could be successful at the next level.

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