re: Class of 2026 Football Recruiting

quote:

---

1. Julian Sayin should overtake Dylan Raiola as the No. 1 QB in the 2024 class.

Gorney’s take: FACT. Convincing me that Julian Sayin is the No. 1 quarterback in the class is getting easier. The Alabama commit just doesn’t make mistakes. He is playing easier competition but he’s also surrounded by fewer elite players whereas Dylan Raiola has five-star KJ Bolden, Jordan Allen and other playmakers in the Buford offense.

What’s so special about Sayin, though, is that he was just as good or better throughout the Elite 11 than Raiola and getting caught up in Raiola’s physical attributes might not be enough anymore to keep him No. 1. Nothing is settled and there is still a long way to go through the season and the all-star events to make changes but right now I’m slightly leaning toward Sayin.

Friedman’s take: FACT. The Raiola vs. Sayin discussion has been ongoing since the spring and it will continue to come up as the end of the rankings cycle nears. This is a really tough question to answer right now because both prospects are just a few games into their senior season so there's a lot to still unfold throughout the rest of this year but, if I had to choose today, I'd pick Sayin.

Physically, Raiola is a bit bigger and stronger than Sayin, who certainly isn't small. Raiola was considered the more athletic of the two early in the evaluation process but Sayin has improved dramatically in that area. Neither have glaring mechanical or footwork issues and each have the raw talent to make any throw asked of them. However, the edge in on-field performance goes to Sayin (just five games into this season). He's completed nearly 80-percent of his passes this year which makes sense because it seems like he just never misses the easy pass. Sayin will feel pressure from a defender or get flushed out of the pocket and immediately deliver an accurate and catchable ball to his checkdown. His timing with his receivers is outstanding and it's clear he understands how and when to throw with touch.

---

quote:

---

Brett Greenberg
@BrettGreenberg_
5?? commit
@juliansayin2
has a 80% completion rate this season

No. 2 QB was 19-for-23 for 220 yards & two touchdowns last week

He’s up to 15 touchdowns & zero interceptions through six games for
@Cbad_Football

---

quote:

---

I hope we hang on to him.

---

quote:

---

Has Alabama paid any recruit a fee for visiting campus? Maybe some reporter should direct this question to the Athletic Dept.

---

quote:

---

That being said, Rodney Orr and others have mentioned that Saban might have internally discussed a change in philosophy to become more active in the portal this coming offseason, and put a lot of time and $$$$ into that. We've gotten some good players out of there every year. But, it sounds like a pretty huge emphasis will go towards that beginning in 2024. It sounds like we might be looking to sign more out of the portal than we have until this point.

---