Former Bengals QB Kitna raves about Ohio State QB commit
Jon Kitna can remember when Dylan Raiola was in diapers. Or out of them.
“We’ve got memories of him stripping his diaper off and jumping in a pool butt-naked at our house,” Kitna said with a laugh.
Raiola, a five-star quarterback who committed Monday night to join Ohio State’s 2024 recruiting class, is the son of Dominic Raiola, a longtime NFL star center with the Detroit Lions. Kitna was the Lions’ quarterback from 2006-08 after leaving the Cincinnati Bengals.
Kitna reconnected with the Raiolas a couple of years ago when they were looking to move from Arizona to Texas to be closer to Dylan’s sister, who attends TCU. Kitna became a coach after his playing career ended and is the head coach at Burleson High School. Dominic told Kitna that he wanted him to coach Dylan.
Funny thing is, Dylan had little experience at quarterback.
“Most coaches weren’t giving him the chance to play quarterback,” Kitna said. “He’s bigger than everybody so they just put him on the line. He played defense and he would run people over and smash people. He said, ‘Uncle Jon, I want to try to play quarterback.’ “
Kitna took Dylan, who’s now listed at 6 -foot-3 and 225 pounds, to his backyard to watch him throw and was immediately impressed with his throwing motion.
Raiola progressed so quickly that he started at junior varsity
as a freshman. When Kit- na’s son Jalen graduated and signed with Florida, Raiola became the starter as a soph- omore. He threw for 3,341 yards and 32 touchdowns last year.
“His physical ability is ridiculous,” Kitna said.
But Kitna didn’t emphasize that or Raiola’s stats when gushing about what makes him special.
“The things you don’t see are better than the things you do,” Kitna said. “People are going to see the film. They’re going to see him at practice and see how he works. But it’s the stuff you don’t see that you can’t necessarily measure – the character, the work ethic, the ability to retain information and process informa- tion, his leadership in the locker room, his leadership on a field. All those things are what really make him special. That’s the thing I tell everybody that wants to talk about Dylan Raiola.”
If he has a criticism of Raiola, he said, it’s that wants to work too hard.
“The only time I’ve ever had a problem with Dylan is that he doesn’t stop,” Kitna said. “There are times that I’m like, ‘Man, you’ve got to take a break. Not just for you, but for your receivers.’ Because he’ll throw every day at 6 a.m. He’s organizing throwing sessions. At 6 a.m., he’s got these kids up here and going, and he works hard at it.”
Raiola’s work ethic extends beyond football. Kitna said he’s an excellent student academically. He’s also a budding entrepreneur.
“He taught himself how to cut hair and literally has a business cutting hair,” Kitna said. “He’s very organized and very focused.”
Kitna won’t coach Raiola this year. The Raiolas have moved back to Arizona, where most of their extended family lives. He will play for Chan- dler High School in subur- ban Phoenix.
“They want to be close to family,” he said. “That’s always been them.
“I was just blessed to be able to coach him for two years.”
Kitna said that with two years of high school remain- ing Raiola is just scratching the surface of his potential. Already, 247Sports has him as the No. 8 prospect in its 2024 composite rankings. He’s the No. 1 prospect in 247Sports’ own rankings.
“He’s going to have a chance to be as good as anybody,” Kitna said. “Obviously, with college football, you’re talking about a very compet- itive environment. But that’s something he never shies away from.”
Raiola can’t sign with Ohio State until December 2023. In college football recruiting, that can seem like an eternity. There is bound to be speculation about whether he will stick with his commitment.
Kitna said Ohio State fans shouldn’t worry.
“Man, that family is about their word,” he said. “If they say they’re going to do something, they’re going to do something. I know that college recruiting is a weird deal now, but that’s one thing that they really stress – their word. I would say that Ohio State got the right one.”