Clemson played host to a couple of big-time quarterback prospects this week, including Chandler (AZ.) five-star Dylan Raiola.
The Clemson Insider first detailed Clemson’s interest in Raiola back in October when he was still at Burleson High School (Texas), playing under former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna.
Now, he was finally able to make his return visit to campus on Wednesday and took in Clemson’s first padded scrimmage of the spring.
“Once I got there, Coach (Brandon) Streeter greeted me,” Raiola said. “I’ve been in communication with him over the phone and I know he came out to visit with my head coach. It was just really good to see him in person and just be around the whole Clemson staff. You can definitely feel the love right when you got there and just what they’re about.
“They’re about a faith-based program with Coach (Dabo) Swinney. I got to talk to Coach Swinney a little bit after practice on Wednesday. I got to spend some time with Coach Swinney and it was a great time. He told us about his program and the culture he’s built. It’s built faith-based and he wants guys to graduate. He wants to leave his players with good tools for life and win a championship. It’s in that specific order for a reason and, obviously, their track record shows they can win championships, especially against SEC programs like the Alabamas and Georgias. It was really good to just be around it and experience it with my whole family.”
Raiola had a chance to watch Clemson’s practice and got a good feel for the quarterback’s room and how the Tigers operate offensively under the direction of Streeter.
“Before practice, I got to sit in meetings,” he said. “I met D.J. (Uiagalelei), I met Cade (Klubnik). They’re great guys, first of all. The first thing I noticed is that they’re great people. They introduced themselves to me and made me feel welcome right away. That’s obviously really important to me. Then, they got into the practice portion of things, they’re gonna push the ball down the field, they’re gonna throw the ball down the field. That was very encouraging to see, that they’re gonna cut it loose and let the quarterbacks throw the ball down the field.”
This was Raiola’s first chance to see Streeter run the show as Clemson’s offensive coordinator.
“They looked really good and just to see Coach Streeter coach the drills they do, it’s very detailed and very thought out,” he said. “It’s just not all thrown together.”
This wasn’t his first time in front of Streeter, though.
“Actually, I went out last summer and threw for them,” Raiola said. “They were very impressed. They said that I’m the top guy on their board. They followed me throughout the season and watched all my film and they loved it. They said that I have a great family. They love my family, which is important to me. I’m a big family-first guy like I said previously. I think it was good to just go up there. I wasn’t going up there expecting an offer. I know they do things a little differently, which I totally respect. That’s why they get the people get and they do their background checks on everybody. It’s a very thought-out process.”
Clemson did mention to Raiola about getting back to campus this summer, which could culminate in the big-time quarterback prospect earning an offer from the Tigers.
What would it mean for him to ultimately pick up that offer from Clemson?
“I think it means a lot,” he said. “Any offer really from anywhere, whether it’s FBS, Power Five. Any offer I get is a blessing because I’m getting the opportunity to play the game that I love and God’s given me all the abilities and talents to play this game. So, especially from Clemson, it’d mean a lot because of the process and the way they do things. They go through the background check and they do all their research going into that. It would mean a lot to get an offer from Clemson and Clemson’s a great program.”
Raiola loves talking with Streeter on the phone, but he also acknowledged that meeting Clemson’s offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach in person does him far more justice.
“They’re just very genuine people, which you can tell through their actions and the way they express themselves,” Raiola said. “You can tell that they do everything right. I could tell over the phone and going to practice, seeing the way they do things, every single little detail matters. It’s just very impressive to see and that’s why they win a lot of games.”
With previously mentioning just how important family was to him, he also acknowledged just how much Clemson’s family atmosphere stood out to him.
“It definitely did,” he said. “The part of graduating college that’s a big deal because a lot of people want to get to college, graduate in three years and go to the NFL. That degree is what’s gonna take you your whole life because football’s short-lived. Coach Swinney, he’s a very family-oriented guy. All the coaches are allowed to bring their families around, which I think is very awesome to me personally.
“Some programs don’t let their families come around and while it doesn’t make me wonder, it makes me ask why they don’t let them come around? I think college is meant to be fun and it shouldn’t be run as a business. I just think with family being around it gives you that family feel. All the coaches’ wives were talking to my mom. That means a lot to me just to see my mom happy and my whole family happy.”
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