Fact or Fiction: Georgia will be the runaway No. 1 in '24 with Dylan Raiola
Rivals national recruiting analyst Nick Harris, along with national recruiting director Adam Gorney, Cole Patterson of Orangebloods.com and Ryan Young of TrojanSports.com tackle three topics and determine whether they think each is FACT or FICTION.
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1. If Georgia lands Dylan Raiola, no program will challenge the Bulldogs for the top spot in the 2024 team rankings.
Harris' take: FACT. Georgia has gotten off to a red-hot start in the 2024 class with commitments from a handful of top targets already that have put the Bulldogs way out in front in the team rankings. Going deeper into the spring, Georgia holds a 300-point lead over LSU for the top spot in the rankings, which almost leads me to believe that Kirby Smart and his staff won't be challenged regardless of if they land Dylan Raiola, but landing the top overall prospect in the country could seal the deal, no matter when it could come. Just having the No. 1 prospect in the class would be enough, but the recruiting momentum that it would generate would be monumental toward not only securing the No. 1 class, but also for competing for the best class of all-time.
Gorney's take: FACT. I’m not even sure Raiola will matter all that much when it comes to the final rankings but if he ends up with the Bulldogs it certainly will not hurt. Not only is Georgia coming off back-to-back national titles, which will help with recruiting but geography is a huge help this recruiting cycle. Five-stars Eddrick Houston, Mike Matthews and KJ Bolden are all from the state and the Bulldogs are one of the frontrunners for all of them. Four-star LB Sammy Brown could end up a five. There will be others. If Raiola picks Georgia, one of his top targets will be five-star Ohio State WR commit Jeremiah Smith. There are endless scenarios but any way you cut it, the Dawgs should load up again.
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2. Despite Aaron Flowers committing to Oregon last week, USC still sits in a good position to land his eventual signature.
Harris' take: FACT. Things got expedited this past week in the recruitment for Forney (Texas) four-star safety Aaron Flowers, as he locked down his commitment in favor of Oregon. It wasn't without some fanfare, however, as Flowers himself said that USC was going to be the choice going into the week before a late conversation with Oregon flipped the tides. USC fans had every right to be a little dejected in the result, but this one is far from over going deeper into the cycle. Flowers still plans on using all of his official visits and USC is already well in the mix to grab one. As we always say when it comes to early commitments, it's a long way to National Signing Day.
Young's take: FACT. There seemed to be major momentum for USC in Flowers' recruitment coming off his visit last month, before the buzz shifted to Oregon right ahead of his commitment. With more than eight months still to go before the first signing period, and with the margin between the two programs in Flowers' recruitment seeming very narrow, it's far too early to look at his commitment with finality. Especially if he follows through on taking an official visit back to USC. Lincoln Riley and his staff have shown the ability to close strongly -- they flipped four-star OT Elijah Paige from Notre Dame last fall and won the battle for five-star TE Duce Robinson after many had earlier pegged Georgia as the front-runners. There's a long way to go here, but certainly Oregon is in the driver's seat with the early commitment.
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3. Florida's backfield tandem of DJ Lagway and Kahnen Daniels will give the Gators the most athletic backfield in the country on signing day.
Harris' take: FICTION. While there won't be a more "dynamic" backfield than what Florida is putting together in this class, I think TCU will eventually finish with the most athletic backfield. The Horned Frogs' quarterback commit is already in the fold as Aledo (Texas) product Hauss Hejny made his pledge last week, and he is one of the only quarterback prospects you'll find in 2024 that is competing for and winning track events. With a personal best of 10.68 in the 100-meter, Hejny translates that track speed onto the field to create an athletic presence that is incredibly difficult to defend. TCU doesn't yet have the running back commit in the class, but the Horned Frogs are in the mix for some speedy threats including Caden Durham, Kewan Lacy and more.
Patterson's take: FACT. You would be hard-pressed to find a more dynamic quarterback than DJ Lagway in the 2024 recruiting cycle. Lagway can hurt defenses through the air and on the ground and is guaranteed to make a highlight-reel play each time that he steps foot on the field. Similar things can be said about Kahnen Daniels, who rushed for 2,032 yards and 24 touchdowns last season while lining up behind center for one of the best programs in Mississippi. He is a threat to score from anywhere on the field. The future Gators duo will be appointment television together on the next level.