Nebraska freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola impressed Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes with a 59-yard touchdown pass in his college football debut against UTEP on Saturday.
“Lil Cuzzo!!” the reigning Super Bowl MVP wrote on X while sharing a clip of Raiola’s deep ball to wide receiver Isaiah Neyor.
Lil cuzzo!! 💪🏽🎯 https://t.co/PpjiPf2XVc
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) August 31, 2024
Raiola, who joined the Cornhuskers as one of the top quarterback recruits in the country, has gone viral in the past for 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
After Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill commented on Raiola’s training camp look, Mahomes referred to Raiola as “lil cuzzo” for the first time on X:
That’s my lil cuzzo https://t.co/JERaDk44ix
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) July 31, 2024
Fans once again commented on the two quarterbacks’ resemblance when Raiola arrived for Saturday’s season opener against UTEP.
P̶a̶t̶ ̶M̶a̶h̶o̶m̶e̶s̶ Dylan Raiola in the house 🌽@HuskerFootball pic.twitter.com/lH5Kz1i1ul
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) August 31, 2024
It’s also no coincidence that Raiola’s No. 15 with Nebraska matches Mahomes’ jersey number with the Chiefs, according to Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule.
“He wears the No. 15, and he patterns a lot of his game after Patrick Mahomes,” Rhule said on the Zach Gelb Show last December (h/t 247Sports’ Grant Hughes.) “Whilst there is only one Pat Mahomes, Dylan has certainly worked on making all of the off platform throws. Dylan has amazing arm talent, as good as anyone I’ve seen.
“He can make all the throws. There’s not a lot of transition for him.”
Raiola, a former five-star recruit who switched his commitment from Georgia to Nebraska in December, is already working on proving those similarities to Mahomes just one half into his college career. The Huskers led 30-7 over UTEP after two quarters thanks to a pair of passing touchdowns from the freshman signal caller.
