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Five-star quarterback prospect Dylan Raiola committed to the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Monday following a weekend official visit and despite being committed to the Georgia Bulldogs for nearly seven months.

With the early signing period set to start Wednesday, this could send Nebraska shooting up the class rankings.

Raiola, the No. 8 overall prospect in the class and the top-ranked pocket-passer, had been committed to Georgia, which has the top-ranked recruiting class, since May and was previously committed to the Ohio State Buckeyes. But the 6-foot-3, 220-pound prospect has family ties to Nebraska, where his father, Dominic, was a star offensive lineman and his uncle is the offensive line coach.

The commitment is huge for Huskers coach Matt Rhule and may kick-start what could be a flip-filled few days. ESPN’s college football and recruiting experts look at what the move could mean.

What makes Raiola such a high-ranked recruit?

The quarterback draws similarities to former ESPN 300 signal-caller Andrew Luck in that Raiola grew up in the sport, has a big pocket-passer build with excellent arm talent, but is also mobile for his size. Between his father, former Nebraska standout and longtime NFL offensive lineman Dominic Raiola, and his uncle Donovan, who is currently the offensive line coach at Nebraska, Dylan has grown up around the Huskers. His coach at Buford (Georgia) High School called Raiola a “student of the game” who always had his notebook from meetings with him and would regularly come up to the school on Sundays to sit with the coaches as they prepared for the coming opponent.

During in-person evaluations the past two seasons, he has displayed the arm strength to make all the throws while being able to change ball speeds, and he throws a catchable ball. He also has displayed an even-keeled demeanor, even when offensive execution wasn’t always operating as desired.

At 6-foot-4, he can stand in the pocket and deliver but also can move around when he needs to. He possesses very good body control and that, combined with his size, allows him to break free of pass-rushers and be able to get outside the pocket and extend plays.

However, he has played for four different high schools and this is his third different commitment. That amount of movement could raise concerns, and only time will tell if he can settle into one spot for an extended period.

Physically, Raiola has excellent traits. He gives the Cornhuskers their most impactful quarterback signing in the ESPN 300 era. — Craig Haubert


What this means for Nebraska?

Raiola is the highest-ranked commitment for Nebraska since ESPN started its rankings in 2006, so that in itself is a big deal. Rhule saw what the Nebraska quarterback room looked like this season and knew he needed to restock it with talent.

Nebraska used three quarterbacks during the season. Heinrich Haarberg and Chubba Purdy, a former ESPN 300 quarterback, are still on the roster. Now, Rhule adds a player with high-end talent and another option at the position for the 2024 season.

Outside of the quarterback depth, and more importantly, it shows that Rhule can recruit. Yes, there are family ties to Nebraska, but that wasn’t enough to get Raiola to commit the first time around, when he chose Ohio State and then Georgia.

Recruiting against Georgia is difficult no matter who it is, and Rhule didn’t give up on Raiola. Getting a high-profile flip like this will help on the field, but it also could help on the trail by getting other prospects interested. Quarterbacks can often help attract other recruits, especially receivers and running backs.

Nebraska can now build off of the momentum of landing Raiola. This could be a monster win for the future of the Nebraska roster. — Tom VanHaaren


What would this mean for Georgia?

There’s no question that losing a five-star quarterback, especially this late in the game, will sting the Bulldogs. Georgia coach Kirby Smart doesn’t lose too many recruiting battles, but it’s the second time in as many years that he and his staff invested a lot of time and resources in courting a highly regarded passer, only to lose out in the end. Georgia’s loss of eventual Texas signee Arch Manning probably didn’t hurt quite as much because he was never committed, but both would have been big-time additions to the program.

As long as starting quarterback Carson Beck returns to the team for 2024, Georgia is going to be just fine on offense. Beck was one of the most efficient and effective passers in FBS in his first season as a starter, throwing for 3,738 yards with 22 touchdowns and six interceptions. He nearly led the two-time defending national champions back to the College Football Playoff, but the Bulldogs lost to Alabama 27-24 in the SEC championship game and fell out of the top four.

Beck’s backup this past season, former four-star recruit Brock Vandagriff, is transferring to Kentucky. Redshirt freshman Gunner Stockton, who attempted nine passes in 2023, will probably go into next season as the No. 2 quarterback. He was the No. 4 dual-threat quarterback prospect in the Class of 2022. He set Georgia high school state records with 13,562 passing yards, 177 passing touchdowns and 77 rushing scores at Rabun County High.

The Bulldogs also have a commitment from Ryan Puglisi, the No. 7 pocket passer in the 2024 ESPN 300. A 6-foot-3, 205-pound native of Avon, Connecticut, Puglisi has been committed to the Bulldogs since October 2022. The former Elite 11 competitor had scholarship offers from Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State and others before choosing Georgia. — Mark Schlabach


Are there other potential QB dominoes after this?

Nebraska has a commitment from three-star in-state quarterback Daniel Kaelin. The Huskers’ coaches said they would still honor Kaelin’s commitment and while Kaelin has not addressed the situation, he did cancel a visit to Michigan State last weekend and appears solid in his commitment.

He could open his recruitment, but it wouldn’t be a major factor in the quarterback market.

On Georgia’s end, it’s late in the process to try to fill Raiola’s spot with a highly touted quarterback, unless the staff looks to flip someone themselves. As noted, the Bulldogs have a quarterback committed in this class and signed another in the 2022 class.

If Beck leaves, it puts the coaches in a situation where they might want to add more depth through the portal or recruiting, but it’s not a dire situation and Raiola’s move doesn’t seem likely to make a shock wave in quarterback recruiting. — VanHaaren

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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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