Five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola, the No. 1 overall player in the Class of 2024 in the 247Sports Composite, is transferring from Phoenix (Ariz.) Pinnacle to Buford (Ga.) High for his final year of prep football. Here’s what you need to know:

• Raiola committed to Georgia on May 15. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound prospect, who originally committed to Ohio State, is now moving to Georgia a year earlier than anticipated.
• Buford will be the fourth high school Raiola will attend and the third team he will play for. He transferred to Pinnacle in January 2023 but did not play a game for the school.
• Buford is considered to be one of the premier high school football programs in the country. Since 2000, 197 players have signed scholarships to play college football. Of those 197 players, 121 of them went to Division I schools. In the Class of 2022, Buford sent nine prospects to Power 5 schools.

Background

Raiola spent three days last week competing at the Elite 11 Finals in Los Angeles, an invite-only camp for 20 of the nation’s most elite quarterback prospects. Though Raiola didn’t win the competition — five-star Alabama commit Julian Sayin of Carlsbad (Calif.) High took the honors — he routinely stood out as one of the most complete prospects on the field. Raiola makes throwing a 50-yard pass seem effortless.

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Raiola isn’t the only quarterback in Georgia’s 2024 class. Four-star Ryan Puglisi of Avon (Conn.) Old Farms, the No. 139 overall player and the No. 12 QB, committed to the Bulldogs in October. Puglisi was also invited to the Elite 11 camp.

Because Raiola has switched high schools so often and has already decommitted from Ohio State, there is this notion that things could get wild in his recruitment again. Nebraska, after all, has significance in his life due to deep-rooted family ties. But given that his family is making the effort to move across the country to suburban Atlanta to be an hour away from Georgia’s campus, it seems pretty clear that Raiola is certain about where he’s going to end up. — Wasserman

Who are some of Raiola’s new teammates?

While Raiola will certainly become an instant headliner at Buford, he’s far from the only elite prospect on this team. The Wolves also boast five-star safety KJ Bolden, the nation’s No. 7 prospect, and five-star defensive lineman Eddrick Houston, the nation’s No. 19 prospect. Both are top-five players in Georgia with offers galore who can help Raiola with the cross-country transition from Arizona to Georgia.

Buford coach Bryant Appling was named the head coach in January 2019 and wasted no time hitting the ground running, as Buford won state championships in each of his first three seasons at the helm. Although the Wolves made an early exit in last year’s playoffs against Walton, this is a dominant team with big-time talent that now plays in Georgia’s Class 7A.

Bolden and Houston can set the tone defensively while Raiola runs the offense. They are also the team leaders. “They don’t mind calling out teammates or calling out best friends on the field and trying to get the ball rolling in the right direction. Kids are really, really different from the time they walk on campus with us as a 14-year-old and they leave as an 18-year-old,” Appling said this month of his two defensive stars. “But I’ve seen these kids grow in a bunch of different ways on and off the field. I just think (whoever lands them), they’re gonna get kids that are gym rats and love ball and love work and love to train and love to do everything it takes to be a great football player.” — Raynor

Required reading

(Photo: Ari Wasserman / The Athletic)