Reaction: 5-star Georgia commit Dylan Raiola checks major box

Buford (Ga.) five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola made his regular season debut on Friday night. Any time the Georgia commit does anything on a football it’s an opportunity to look into his tremendous upside.

Raiola’s arm talent has been apparent for a few years now. His football acumen has been revealed as well, even though Friday showcased a bit more of that side of him.

In his first start at Georgia powerhouse Buford, Raiola checked a few more boxes rolling through his senior year.

Stats will be available later this afternoon from Friday’s game. One of the boxes that was checked early in the game for me was Raiola’s ability to pick up any offense is nearly unmatched by a high school quarterback.

Raiola has been at Buford since July. He stepped on the field on Friday night and on his first drive he was rolling hard counts, backing off and checking at the line of scrimmage in an offense he’s learned in a month.

That means not only does Raiola know the base packages well, he knows the offense’s backdoors and trap doors and can freelance a bit. This also means Buford’s coaching staff trusts him.

Raiola threw the ball a lot in his debut. Buford has typically been known as a running team. Raiola was well into the 30s in attempts.

As he gets the chemistry the execution of some of the minor details in the offense should get easier to hit in game situations. Raiola didn’t get spring and summer 7-on-7 to learn his receivers and that showed a tad. Even still, Raiola threw two nice touchdown passes on the night.

Overall, the physical and mental side of Raiola’s game looked like a five-star quarterback.

New box for Dylan Raiola’s resume

Raiola is a big, physical quarterback. He showed why that matters on Friday. St. Frances provided a formidable challenge up front for the Buford offensive line.

Raiola got some heat in the pocket nearly from snap one. He never really felt panic in the pocket. The five-star’s eyes stayed down the field for much of the night while being pressured.

There was a big play in the first half in which Raiola took a shot. He never saw the completion but could hear the crowd as he was driven into the ground.

Raiola stood up signaled first down and looked for the next call.

That’s some toughness. St. Frances also has Power Five players along their front seven. Multiple players hold offers from all over the country including Georgia.

Not that this was a concern before, but we now know what Raiola looks like in a situation where the athletes are equal and there’s consistent pressure in his face. This could be a preview of any given Saturday in the SEC.

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