College football is here, and Nebraska’s five-star freshman quarterback is already making headlines… but it isn’t for football reasons. The prospect is turning heads because he looks exactly like Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes.
Five-Star QB Dylan Raiola is Patrick Mahomes’ Doppelgänger
Raiola bears a strong resemblance to Mahomes — down to his haircut, facial hair, and style.
College football fans were shocked by his appearance coming off the bus prior to Nebraska’s season opener against UTEP.
Patrick Mahomes?????
— Overtime (@overtime) August 31, 2024
This is the second time that Raiola has gone viral for being a Mahomes look-alike.
When he showed up for the first day of Nebraska’s fall camp, he was wearing ski glasses and the internet was stunned by his resemblance to Mahomes.
Five-star QB Dylan Raiola pulled up to Nebraska camp looking like Patrick Mahomes: pic.twitter.com/imwoJXecvW
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 31, 2024
It turns out Raiola and Mahomes actually have a relationship.
After the photo of Raiola blew up on X (formerly Twitter), Mahomes’ former Chiefs teammate Tyreek Hill posted the picture, tagging Mahomes and adding the captions, “Boy ain’t no way,” and, “Man trying to steal his flow.”
Shortly after, Mahomes replied: “That’s my lil cuzzo.”
That’s my lil cuzzo https://t.co/JERaDk44ix
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) July 31, 2024
Mahomes reiterated this on Saturday afternoon. After Raiola threw a long touchdown pass against UTEP, Mahomes posted the following tweet:
Lil cuzzo!! 💪🏽🎯 https://t.co/PpjiPf2XVc
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) August 31, 2024
It’s worth noting that Raiola also wears No. 15 and, according to Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule, “patterns a lot of his game” after Mahomes.
The two quarterbacks have actually worked out together. Following Nebraska’s spring game, Raiola headed to Kansas City to train with Mahomes and his trainer, Bobby Stroupe.
“I’ll go work with Pat and Bobby,” Raiola said. “I’m just trying to up my game and be around great people.
“I just want to be around greatness. Obviously, he’s going down as one of the greats already. But just trying to take it all in and elevate my game as much as I can.”
Before committing to Nebraska, Raiola was originally committed to Ohio State in 2022, later flipping to Georgia in 2023, and then finally the Cornhuskers in December. His father, Dominic, was an All-American offensive lineman at Nebraska and had his jersey number retired. Additionally, his uncle, Donovan, is the team’s offensive line coach.
In 2023, Raiola posted an 11-2 record at Buford High School. He passed for 2,819 yards, 34 touchdowns, and just one interception. He also had three rushing touchdowns and a 63.6% completion percentage.
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According to 247Sports, Raiola finished the 2024 class as a five-star, ranked as the second-best quarterback in the nation, the top player in Georgia, and the seventh-best player nationally.
Raiola drew comparisons to Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford from 247Sports director of scouting Andrew Ivins.