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Dylan Raiola, ESPN’s top pocket-passing quarterback in the 2024 recruiting class, told ESPN on Monday he’s switching his college commitment to Nebraska from Georgia.

The decision marks a potential seismic shift in fortunes for Nebraska football, as Raiola’s commitment makes him the highest-ranked high school recruit to pick the Cornhuskers since ESPN began tracking rankings in 2006, per ESPN Stats & Information.

Raiola is ranked No. 8 overall in the 2024 ESPN 300.

In a phone interview Monday, Raiola detailed how a lifetime of being intertwined with Nebraska football played into his decision. His father, Dominic, was an All-American offensive lineman there, and his uncle Donovan is the school’s offensive line coach.

“I firmly believe that Nebraska is in my blood,” Raiola told ESPN. “It’s a great opportunity to be part of something bigger than myself. Nebraska is a special place.”

Nebraska marks the third school Raiola has been tied to in his recruitment. He committed to Ohio State early in May 2022, only to decommit and choose Georgia in May 2023.

The Bulldogs on Monday learned that quarterback Carson Beck, who had a 12-1 record in his first season as a starter, will return in 2024 for his senior season.

Raiola said there’s allure to potentially restoring glory to the Cornhuskers amid the program’s seven-year bowl drought spanning three head coaches. Nebraska’s history includes five national championships and three Heisman Trophy winners.

“I think it’ll mean a lot to bring it back,” Raiola said. “Just because of the legacy of so many great players that have walked through that locker room that’s been established there — to keep doing what they established.

“… Just the history of the Nebraska football program. It’s not just another program.”

The flip to Nebraska marks a major touchstone early in the tenure of Matt Rhule, who finished with a 5-7 mark in his first season. Nebraska had inconsistent quarterback play this year, with the country’s No. 126 passing offense and No. 120 scoring offense. The Cornhuskers had top-20 finishes in scoring defense, rush defense and total defense.

Rhule previously found success as the coach at Temple and Baylor, and he spent three seasons as an NFL coach before returning to Nebraska. He made a strong impression on Raiola.

“I believe from my dad being there, I understand the history of the program,” Raiola said. “I also understand my family legacy there and the fan base and aspirations. I strongly believe in the vision and culture that Coach Rhule has established with his staff.”

Raiola played high school football in both Texas and Arizona before he transferred to Buford (Georgia) High School this past summer. He threw for 2,666 yards, 34 touchdowns and just 1 interception in his final season.

Raiola plans to enroll early at Nebraska and be on campus in January. He visited over the weekend, with the outside expectation that he planned to eventually commit there.

“I went up there with an open mind,” Raiola said. “I think it was just another opportunity to be around the whole coaching staff and understand really Coach Rhule’s vision and culture and what he intends for Nebraska to be. He understands that himself. That’s huge. He can implement that into his coaching style and the way he interacts with his players.

“… I noticed the way that his players gravitate to him. He really cares about the person and the man that you are becoming. He uses the football platform to help develop you as a man. That’s what makes him the most special. He gets the most out of them, because he’s built strong relationships.”

Raiola has spent his whole life rooting for the Cornhuskers, as his dad won the Remington Award in 2000 as the top center in college football and earned first-team All-America honors. He was also a finalist for the Lombardi (top lineman) and Outland Awards (top interior lineman).

When asked who his favorite Cornhusker player growing up was, Dylan Raiola said he “rooted for the whole team.”

“That speaks a lot on how much it meant for my dad. My dad instilled that legacy in me,” Raiola said. “What he’s instilled in me and all that he’s taught me growing up is that he learned a lot of that from his time at Nebraska.”

While there’s no definitive starter at quarterback for 2024, Nebraska has avoided taking a high-profile quarterback from the NCAA transfer portal. Raiola said he’s eager to compete this spring and knows nothing will be handed to him.

“You have to go in and earn your stripes and compete and fall in line with what guys established last year,” Raiola said. “You’re still a freshman. You have to listen to everyone ahead of you. That’s the beautiful thing about it.”

When asked to write the perfect script of his career at Nebraska, Raiola acknowledged that it won’t be linear but said he’s looking forward to the adventure.

“I don’t think there’s a perfect vision of what it’s going to be,” he said. “There’s going to be ups and downs. … I can’t tell you what it’s going to be, but it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

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Journalism rallies in $1M Haskell Invitational win

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Journalism rallies in M Haskell Invitational win

OCEANPORT, N.J. — Journalism launched a dramatic rally to win the $1 million Haskell Invitational on Saturday at Monmouth Park.

It was Journalism’s first race since the Triple Crown. He was the only colt to contest all three legs, winning the Preakness while finishing second to Sovereignty in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes.

Heavily favored at 2-5 odds, Journalism broke poorly under jockey Umberto Rispoli and wound up trailing the early leaders. He kicked into gear rounding the final turn to find Gosger and Goal Oriented locked in a dogfight for the lead. It appeared one of them would be the winner until Journalism roared down the center of the track to win by a half-length.

“You feel like you’re on a diesel,” Rispoli said. “He’s motoring and motoring. You never know when he’s going to take off. To do what he did today again, it’s unbelievable.”

Gosger held on for second, a neck ahead of Goal Oriented.

The Haskell victory was Journalism’s sixth in nine starts for Southern California-based trainer Michael McCarthy, and earned the colt a berth in the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar on Nov. 1.

Journalism paid $2.80, $2.20 and $2.10.

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Heavy rain helps Elliott to pole for Dover Cup race

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Heavy rain helps Elliott to pole for Dover Cup race

DOVER, Del. — Chase Elliott took advantage of heavy rain at Dover Motor Speedway to earn the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race.

Elliott and the rest of the field never got to turn a scheduled practice or qualifying lap on Saturday because of rain that pounded the concrete mile track. Dover is scheduled to hold its first July race since the track’s first one in 1969.

Elliott has two wins and 10 top-five finishes in 14 career races at Dover.

Chase Briscoe starts second, followed by Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick and William Byron. Shane van Gisbergen, last week’s winner at Sonoma Raceway, Michael McDowell, Joey Logano, Ty Gibbs and Kyle Busch complete the top 10.

Logano is set to become the youngest driver in NASCAR history with 600 career starts.

Logano will be 35 years, 1 month, 26 days old when he hits No. 600 on Sunday at Dover Motor Speedway. He will top seven-time NASCAR champion and Hall of Famer Richard Petty by six months.

The midseason tournament that pays $1 million to the winner pits Ty Dillon vs. John Hunter Nemechek and Reddick vs. Gibbs in the head-to-head challenge at Dover.

The winners face off next week at Indianapolis. Reddick is the betting favorite to win it all, according to Sportsbook.

All four drivers are winless this season.

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Hamlin on 23XI trial: ‘All will be exposed’

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Hamlin on 23XI trial: 'All will be exposed'

DOVER, Del. — NASCAR race team owner Denny Hamlin remained undeterred in the wake of another setback in court, vowing “all will be exposed” in the scheduled December trial as part of 23XI Racing’s federal antitrust suit against the auto racing series.

A federal judge on Thursday rejected a request from 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports to continue racing with charters while they battle NASCAR in court, meaning their six cars will race as open entries this weekend at Dover, next week at Indianapolis and perhaps longer than that in a move the teams say would put them at risk of going out of business.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell denied the teams’ bid for a temporary restraining order, saying they will make races over the next couple of weeks and they won’t lose their drivers or sponsors before his decision on a preliminary injunction.

Bell left open the possibility of reconsidering his decision if things change over the next two weeks.

After this weekend, the cars affected may need to qualify on speed if 41 entries are listed – a possibility now that starting spots have opened.

The case has a Dec. 1 trial date, but the two teams are fighting to be recognized as chartered for the current season, which has 16 races left. A charter guarantees one of the 40 spots in the field each week, but also a base amount of money paid out each week.

“If you want answers, you want to understand why all this is happening, come Dec. 1, you’ll get the answers that you’re looking for,” Hamlin said Saturday at Dover Motor Speedway. “All will be exposed.”

23XI, which is co-owned by retired NBA great Michael Jordan, and FRM filed their federal suit against NASCAR last year after they were the only two organizations out of 15 to reject NASCAR’s extension offer on charters.

Jordan and FRM owner Bob Jenkins won an injunction to recognize 23XI and FRM as chartered for the season, but the ruling was overturned on appeal earlier this month, sending the case back to Bell.

Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, co-owns 23XI with Jordan and said they were prepared to send Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace and Riley Herbst to the track each week as open teams. They sought the restraining order Monday, claiming that through discovery they learned NASCAR planned to immediately begin the process of selling the six charters which would put “plaintiffs in irreparable jeopardy of never getting their charters back and going out of business.”

Hamlin said none of the setbacks have made him second-guess the decision to file the lawsuit.

“Dec. 1 is all that matters. Mark your calendar,” Hamlin said. “I’d love to be doing other things. I’ve got a lot going on. When I get in the car (today), nothing else is going to matter other than that. I always give my team 100%. I always prepare whether I have side jobs, side hustles, more kids, that all matters, but I always give my team all the time that they need to make sure that when I step in, I’m 100% committed.”

Reddick, who has a clause that allows him to become a free agent if the team loses its charter, declined comment Saturday on all questions connected to his future and the lawsuit. Hamlin also declined to comment on Reddick’s future with 23XI Racing.

Reddick, one of four drivers left in NASCAR’s $1 million In-season Challenge, was last year’s regular-season champion and raced for the Cup Series championship in the season finale. But none of the six drivers affected by the court ruling are locked into this year’s playoffs.

Making the field won’t be an issue this weekend at Dover as fewer than the maximum 40 cars are entered. But should 41 cars show up anywhere this season, someone slow will be sent home and that means lost revenue and a lost chance to win points in the standings.

“Nothing changes from my end, obviously, and nothing changes from inside the shop,” Front Row Motorsports driver Zane Smith said. “There’s not typically even enough cars to worry about transferring in.”

Smith, 24th in the standings and someone who would likely need a win to qualify for NASCAR’s playoffs, said he stood behind Jenkins in his acrimonious legal fight that has loomed over the stock car series for months.

“I leave all that up to them,” Smith said, “but my job is to go get the 38 the best finish I can.”

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