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Quarterback Dylan Raiola commits to Ohio State, discusses decision with SGR

Ohio State has started off its 2024 recruiting class with a massive splash: Chandler (Ariz.) quarterback Dylan Raiola has committed to the Buckeyes.

Raiola gives the Buckeyes a monster start right out of the gate as their top overall target has become their first commitment in the class. Raiola is ranked as the No. 28 overall player and No. 4 pro-style quarterback. But his stock has soared over the last few months, and he will be heavily in the mix for the spot as the nation's No. 1 quarterback and No. 1 overall prospect by the time he signs.

He could have committed to just about any other program in the nation with an offer sheet highlighted by Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Notre Dame, Texas and USC. Instead, he chose the Buckeyes.

Raiola joined Scarlet and Gray Report's Zack Carpenter to discuss why he committed to Ohio State, his fit in the Buckeyes' system and much more on his background as a player and person. Check out that interview in the video above and on our YouTube page.

"I knew with the brotherhood, the culture and the tough love that it was the place and the culture I wanted to be in," Raiola told Scarlet and Gray Report. "I just felt that everything was very real. The coaches were transparent, the players were transparent. And you could just see it watching practice, sitting in meetings and just watching the spring game.”

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Raiola fits the physical mold of a Ryan Day quarterback at 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds – the updated number that Chandler head coach Rick Garretson told SGR that Raiola is weighing in at these days.

The right-handed passer saw his recruitment with the Buckeyes start to spin in October during his visit for the Penn State game. Then it really took off in January when Ryan Day and Corey Dennis flew to Chandler to see him, which Raiola marked as a turning point in how seriously he took the Buckeyes.

“Just to see them there, I knew I wanted to get back up there in the spring just because they came out to see me," Raiola said. "I knew Ohio State was a special place when I went there for the Penn State game for the first time. I knew that once I got back up there it would be a good time.”

Raiola visited for the Buckeyes' biggest recruiting weekend of the spring on April 1-3 – a weekend loaded with five-star visitors that is going to go down as one of the most critical Ohio State has had in recent years. He then made a telling return to Ohio State just two weeks later for the Buckeyes' spring game.

That visit was the one that sealed Raiola's decision as he locked in a commitment with the Buckeyes during that April weekend before eventually announcing his decision on Monday night.

"I love where I'm at with Ohio State," Raiola told SGR on the Saturday night of that visit. "I love the fans. Love Ryan Day."

Day and Buckeyes fans love Raiola right back, and now they have a chance to get to know their quarterback of the future even more in the coming years before he arrives in Columbus.

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