ATHENS —Dylan Raiola or Arch Manning?

Georgia fans will surely favor the former, but a year ago at this time the Bulldogs were barking out their desires for Arch Manning.

The vibe right now in Athens is all about Raiola, the No. 1-ranked player in the 2024 Class who made his verbal commitment to attend UGA on Monday.

A year ago at this time, the pursuit was on for Manning, who still had visits to Alabama, Georgia and Texas ahead.

Manning said he wanted to go somewhere he could win championships, leading many to believe he would choose Georgia.

Especially since Alabama was reportedly not high on the Manning Family’s list — SEC rivalries do die hard.

It seemed it would be Georgia or Texas, and the Longhorns, with their “All Gas No Breaks” motto, won out and landed Manning.

It was a slap in the face for Georgia at the time.

One wonders how much more motivated it might have made Coach Kirby Smart to put a few more points on the scoreboard in some of the Bulldogs’ games in 2022.

Surely Manning took note that Georgia scored 65 points on the same TCU defense that held the Longhorns’ offense out of the end zone with ESPN GameDay on site in Austin.

That was then, this is now, and the bigger question where these two quarterbacks are concerned is how the future plays out.

What happens if (when?) Manning and Raiola meet on the football field - 2025, perhaps?

Georgia won’t have do-it-all target Brock Bowers anymore to bail out errant throws or make 40 yard runs off 5-yard throws.

But the Bulldogs figure to have a high-profile passing attack with Mike Bobo back as the offensive coordinator and play caller.

Manning and and Raiola are both ultra-talented, seemingly with NFL quarterback futures.

The early read is Raiola has more arm talent at this stage of the game, but Manning is currently the bigger, better athlete.

That said, players and skills develop and supporting casts shift.

There’s no way to know which program got the better player at this junction, and there’s no guarantee in this world of NIL and transfers that either player will be in the same program.

It’s all just speculation, the possibilities are endless, and recruiting is undefeated.