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Post by bigdawgs on Feb 7, 2024 15:08:51 GMT -5
Spenser Davis | 22 minutes ago Kirk Herbstreit was amongst the people who encouraged 5-star quarterback Dylan Raiola to flip from Georgia to Nebraska, according to new comments from Raiola’s father.
Raiola’s father, Dominic Raiola, shared that intel in an interview with Rivals’ Adam Gorney this week. Dominic, who also played at Nebraska, detailed some of his conversation with Herbstreit.
“When [Herbstreit] saw the smoke about Dylan entertaining Nebraska, he called me,” Raiola said. “He said, ‘dude, is this true? He’s got to do it.’
“His affinity for Nebraska, for a guy like that, to tell me and get behind me. I knew he needed to do it. But I wasn’t going to sit here and say ‘You need to go change that place or be a part of the change of that place.’ So when Kirk told me that … I’ve had other coaches reach out to me and say the place is special. Coach (Matt) Rhule is a special leader.”
Here’s video of Dominic’s comments:
It’s unclear when this conversation between Herbstreit and Raiola happened. Dylan flipped his commitment from Georgia to Nebraska on Dec. 18 and officially signed with the Huskers 2 days later.
Raiola, who attends Buford High School in Georgia, was a big loss for the Bulldogs on the recruiting trail. He was the No. 21 overall player and the No. 3 quarterback in the country for the class of 2024, per 247Sports Composite rankings.
In addition to his father’s connection to the program, Raiola’s uncle (Donovan Raiola) currently serves as Nebraska’s offensive line coach. Raiola will now step into a situation where he could be Nebraska’s starting quarterback as a true freshman in 2024.
Georgia was still able to sign a quarterback in the class of 2024. The Bulldogs signed 4-star Ryan Puglisi as part of their No. 1-ranked signing class for this cycle, per 247Sports Composite rankings.
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Post by bigdawgs on Feb 7, 2024 15:17:08 GMT -5
I don't have any issue with any 17 or 18 year old kid flipping from one school to another. I expect coaches to do it and family and friends to do it.
However, I am not sure that I like a guy with the weight he carries, deciding to encourage a kid committed to one school to flip to another. Seems to me that is meddling at its highest. And this, coming from a guy who has been whining about how Florida State fans are mean to him about he lobbying so hard for FSU to be left out of the playoff. ESPN carries a ton of weight and Herbie carries the most weight at ESPN when it comes to the game. He lobbied very hard for a Michigan-Ohio State rematch in 2006 because they were clearly the two best teams in the land. Then they both got boat raced in their respective bowl games.
"If this is true, this is highly unethical," said college football writer Dan Wolken.
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Post by geauxtigerfan on Feb 7, 2024 15:21:21 GMT -5
On College Game day, if Herbie is announcing one of the games being picked at the end of the show - he passes because he is announcing the game. Trying to show he is not biased - but in the above post - he crosses the line, IMO.
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Post by bigdawgs on Feb 8, 2024 20:08:48 GMT -5
ATHENS — Kirk Herbstreit has cleared the air on his comments made by the father of former Georgia commit Dylan Raiola.
On Wednesday, Raiola’s father, Dominic, relayed to Rivals that the ESPN commentator helped encourage the elder Raiola that Dylan should consider flipping his commitment to Nebraska.
“When he saw the smoke about Dylan entertaining Nebraska, he called me,” Dominic Raiola said on Wednesday. “’Dude, Is this true? He [Dylan] got to do it. He got to do it.’ His [Herbstreit] affinity for Nebraska, for a guy like that to tell me and get behind me. I knew he needed to do it. But I wasn’t going to sit here and say ‘You need to go change that place or be a part of the change of that place.’”
In an interview with The Paul Finebaum Show, Herbstreit walked back those comments, stressing that he never tried to encourage Dylan Raiola to commit to Nebraska, especially at the expense of Georgia.
“That’s the most ridiculous thing anybody would do, but I did compliment Matt Rhule,” Herbstreit said. “If I’m guilty of anything, I said Matt Rhule is a good coach and he’s a good man. I believe he will bring Nebraska back.”
Herbstreit did note he has known Dominic Raiola for a while and Herbstreit was spotted on the sidelines prior to the Ole Miss game speaking with Dylan Raiola.
“I just said, ‘Wow, the fact that your son could go to any school, any powerhouse that’s competing for national titles an because of his respect for his own dad, he’s thinking about maybe going to Nebraska, a place that hasn’t competed for national titles in over 20 years. That says a lot about who the kid is,” Herbstreit said.
Dylan Raiola originally committed to Georgia back in May. He was poised to be an early enrollee at Georgia but in mid-December, he elected to take a last-minute official visit to Nebraska. Shortly after that visit, Raiola did end up flipping his commitment to Nebraska, just days before the start of the early signing period.
Dominic Raiola played for Nebraska, where he was an All-American. His brother is also currently the offensive line coach for the Cornhuskers as well.
Raiola finished the cycle as the No. 21 overall prospect in the 2024 recruiting cycle and is the highest-rated signee for Rhule and the Cornhuskers. Nebraska went 5-7 in Rhule’s first season.
“Are you suppose to say Matt Rhule is a bad guy, Matt Rhule is an idiot, Matt Rhule is a bad coach,” Herbstreit said of his conversation with Dominic Raiola. “Or do you say, ‘I like Matt Rhule. I think Matt Rhule is a good coach.’”
With Raiola ending up at Nebraska, Georgia ended up signing only one quarterback in the 2024 recruiting cycle. Ryan Puglisi is already enrolled at Georgia and will go through spring practice. He was ranked as the No. 10 quarterback recruit for the cycle and the No. 108 overall prospect.
“He checked the box every time for the right kind of kid, the right kind of competitor. He’s embraced the part about learning,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said of Puglisi. “He sees himself as a guy that needs to come in and develop under a system. He’s seen Carson’s success, so I think he understands that. He wants to grow and get better.
“Quarterback is the leader of the team and leader of your class. He’s a really intelligent, fun kid to be around. He’s been out here at practices, competing. He’s got a really live arm. He’s another one of these baseball guys that can catch it and get it out really fast, which I think is really important in today’s day and age.”
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Post by Bradimous1 on Feb 9, 2024 5:46:26 GMT -5
Ehhh, I don’t love this, but also might be different based on his relationship with the family.
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Post by bigdawgs on Feb 9, 2024 9:15:31 GMT -5
Ehhh, I don’t love this, but also might be different based on his relationship with the family. Actually, if it happened as Herbie is saying, I have no issue at all. But it sounded quite different when Daddy Raiola talked about it. I am a bit surprised by Herbie's somewhat slow response...normally these guys jump right up and deny or confirm. Herbie uses twitter all the time, so it was surprising that he did not clarify it earlier. He was getting a lot of national sports writers questioning it so it wasn't just pissed off Georgia fans.
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Post by Bradimous1 on Feb 9, 2024 18:26:44 GMT -5
Ehhh, I don’t love this, but also might be different based on his relationship with the family. Actually, if it happened as Herbie is saying, I have no issue at all. But it sounded quite different when Daddy Raiola talked about it. I am a bit surprised by Herbie's somewhat slow response...normally these guys jump right up and deny or confirm. Herbie uses twitter all the time, so it was surprising that he did not clarify it earlier. He was getting a lot of national sports writers questioning it so it wasn't just pissed off Georgia fans. . Sounded like a cover my ass response as daddy wasn’t supposed to say anything. Daddy won’t argue either as he prolly knows he messed up.
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Post by bigdawgs on Feb 9, 2024 18:31:02 GMT -5
I imagine Kirbs will be careful around Herbie in the future.
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