National recruiting director Adam Gorney looks at four surprising recruiting developments including the top player in the region leaving for the Southeast:
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RAIOLA'S MOVE TO GEORGIA
Dylan Raiola is now going to his fourth high school.
Maybe that’s a red flag but it’s probably not all that worrisome since the five-star quarterback and No. 1 prospect in the 2024 class really has only transferred from Burleson, Texas to Chandler, Ariz.
When he left Chandler for Phoenix (Ariz.) Pinnacle there could have been some eligibility issues plus Raiola already being committed to Georgia saw an opportunity to join the loaded group at Buford, Ga., and he took it. This is a little bit different of a situation than Jake Garcia, a quarterback a few years ago who landed in Georgia for his senior season.
Raiola looked at powerhouse Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco but being pledged to the Bulldogs, getting in-state earlier should only help him adjust earlier. He still has all the talent in the world and has the physical ability to start early in the SEC.
It also cannot hurt Georgia’s chances with fellow five-stars KJ Bolden and Eddrick Houston now that Raiola can be in their ear about joining him in Athens.
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JULIAN SAYIN'S ARGUMENT FOR NO. 1
As it stands now, Alabama five-star quarterback commit Julian Sayin is the No. 4 prospect in the 2024 class but there is a legitimate argument for him to move to the top spot. Here it is: He was the best quarterback at the Elite 11 and then went to OT7 Nationals and was one of the best performers there as well.
I remember first seeing Sayin a few years ago at a throwing session for quarterback coach Danny Hernandez on a private hillside farm in Fallbrook, Calif., and while he was undersized and not physically developed yet, Sayin showed off excellent skills and Hernandez promised Sayin would be the next big-time quarterback.
A few years later, here is Sayin committed to the Crimson Tide, beating out all the other quarterbacks at the Elite 11 and really making a push for the top spot overall in the 2024 class. For a while, I’ve thought Sayin was really good but his performances this offseason have been really incredibly impressive.
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STANFORD'S JUNE HAUL
The fact that Stanford has loaded up with commitments in June is not much of a surprise. Numerous teams across the country have done that. But the Cardinal are working at such breakneck speed through the month that it definitely caught some off-guard considering recent recruiting trends under former coach David Shaw.
It’s a new regime with coach Troy Taylor in charge as Stanford has landed 20 of 24 pledges in June alone. The Cardinal now have more commitments than any other Power Five program in the country and there are some potentials stars in the group including four-star quarterback Elijah Brown, four-star defensive end Dylan Stephenson and many others.
Stanford is currently sitting No. 8 nationally in the team rankings.
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WASHINGTON'S NO-SHOW - SO FAR
June has been a month where many programs across the Power Five conferences have loaded up with commitments as the majority of schools are well into double-digit pledges heading into the late summer. Not Washington.
Believe it or not, the Huskies have the fewest Power Five commits with only two - four-star offensive lineman Paki Finau and four-star Jason Robinson, who committed on Saturday. Washington actually has as many de-commits this month from QB EJ Caminong and receiver Landon Bell as total pledges.
Every program in the ACC has double-digit commits other than NC State (nine). Every team in the Big Ten except Michigan State (six) are in double digits. Missouri has three commits in the SEC, Texas and Kansas State have six in the Big 12 and in the Pac-12, Washington has only two.
It could be a strategy to wait longer, maybe some top targets are waiting to make their decisions and it’s not entirely worrisome yet because a lot of high-end prospects have talked highly of coach Kalen DeBoer and his staff but while some Pac-12 programs are loading up incredibly fast through June, the Huskies have done virtually nothing when it comes to pledges.
