LINCOLN, Neb. – There’s the haircut and Dylan Raiola’s warm-up routine just before kickoff. There are the sunglasses, the mannerisms and the way he moves in and out of the red-clad bag. There are the sidearm throws and even the misguided assumption that his younger brother is imitating Patrick Mahomes’ brother.

The No. 15 jersey — designed not after Mahomes but after former Florida star Tim Tebow — evokes a double perspective. But beneath the surface, Raiola, the freshman quarterback from Nebraska, and Mahomes, the three-time Super Bowl winner of the Kansas City Chiefs, have much more in common.

Raiola, a former five-star prospect from Buford, Georgia, has thrown for 967 yards and eight touchdowns in four college games. In fact, his first month was nearly flawless until the Huskers suffered a late loss to Illinois last Friday that resulted in a 31-24 loss in overtime.

Outside of Nebraska, however, his resemblance to Mahomes dominates conversations about the 19-year-old Raiola.

“I guess if that’s what people want to say,” Raiola said last month when the conversation broke out, “this guy is one of the best, so it’s cool.”

This Dylan Raiola and Patrick Mahomes side by side is WILD 😳

(Via TT/Tanner Gatlin) pic.twitter.com/5TYmGUAVqc

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 10, 2024

Raiola also works extensively during the football season with quarterbacks coach Jeff Christensen and coach Bobby Stroupe, both of whom helped make Mahomes a two-time NFL MVP.

What has been lost in the memes and backlash on social media? Raiola has not contacted Mahomes’ support team to follow up on his path.

Raiola found her because of his proximity to Christensen and Stroupe, who operated separately out of North Texas when Raiola attended high school there in 2020 and 2021 — and because of their connections through Dylan’s father, former Detroit Lions center Dominic Raiola.

They see more differences between Raiola and Mahomes than similarities.

“I honestly don’t care about any of this hyperbole,” said Christensen, a longtime coach and eight-year NFL QB. “In my opinion you have two great people, two great families and two children who want property. You are responsible. They care about their teammates. They are good souls. And that’s all I can do with it.”

Stroupe has moved operations to Kansas City. He said he spends 10 hours a week with Mahomes during the season in holistic training sessions that were documented last year in the Netflix series “Quarterback.”

His visits to Raiola remain frequent – ​​in Lincoln and through digital monitoring of Raiola’s work.

Stroupe said he understands the allure of pitting the Nebraska QB against the 29-year-old Mahomes. But it misses a larger point, he said.

“They move the same way,” Stroupe said. “They have some dimensions that give them a certain similarity. I think the way they throw the football and protect the ball is a little different. Dylan will go his own way. He will be very different from Patrick.

“I’m happy that Dylan is going his own way.”

Comparisons between Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes and Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola have gained traction on social media this season. But there’s more to their story of commonality. (Jay Biggerstaff/Imagn Images, Dylan Widger/USA Today)

A holistic training approach

Stroupe’s methodology caught the attention of Dominic Raiola, the former All-America center at Nebraska, who was looking for the best program for Dylan during his rise as a junior player. Dylan joined Stroupe last year.

Ranked as the No. 3 quarterback in the Class of 2024 by On3’s industry average, he finished his first semester at Nebraska with a starring role in the spring game. His performance answered many questions about his readiness to enter as a freshman. Raiola then spent several weeks with Stroupe in Kansas City.

Nebraska strength coach Corey Campbell watched some of their workouts. The Stroupe partnership involves Campbell and others in Nebraska who work with the Huskers on a daily basis.

The agreement works similarly to his interactions with Mahomes and the Chiefs, Stroupe said. His relationship with Mahomes goes back 20 years.

“For me,” Stroupe said, “it’s about cultivating their signature uniqueness and expanding on the things that make them different. What is their unique talent?”

What makes Mahomes unique is different than what makes Raiola unique.

Mahomes’ ability to corner is special. This is evident when he extends plays and evades defenders who run faster in a straight line than Mahomes. He trains this skill with Stroupe, but some qualities come naturally.

Both quarterbacks possess a “calmness,” Stroupe said. Both started out in baseball. Raiola’s charging movements and shoulder anatomy are naturally similar to those of the older quarterback, according to Stroupe.

And his size at 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds is a milestone — Mahomes is listed at 6-2 and 225 pounds.

“He’s more physically imposing,” Stroupe said. “I think Dylan really has the potential to be a power runner in the situations he wants.”

He could run over a midfielder, Stroupe said. Of course, Matt Rhule and the Nebraska coaches would prefer if Raiola wasn’t there.

If needed, Stroupe will have it ready, working with Campbell and the Nebraska staff.

An early focus on size

Last year, when Raiola went undrafted as a recruit, Christensen talked to Rhule about the quarterback.

“He asked me what I thought about Dylan,” Christensen said. “I said it’s very rare for an 18-year-old kid to come to a major university, especially a Big Ten university, and play at a high level.

“But if anyone can do it, it’s him.”

Christensen has been coaching Mahomes in the mechanics of quarterback play since 2017, his rookie year in the NFL. He started at Raiola four years ago.

Many of the principles in Mahomes’ training also apply to Christensen’s work with Raiola. When the trainer met Dylan, Christensen said, “He was like the young stallion you’re trying to break.”

It’s not unlike the path Mahomes took as a junior in Whitehouse, Texas, before throwing for more than 11,000 yards in three seasons at Texas Tech.

Raiola committed to Ohio State in 2022 but opted out shortly after Rhule took over at Nebraska in November of that year. He then committed to Georgia in May 2023. Nebraska never lost interest. Days before the signing period opened last December, Dylan transferred to Nebraska.

Christensen’s words echoed. He told Rhule that Raiola was working too hard to fail.

“He eats it, sleeps it and drinks it,” Christensen said. “It means too much to him. Without being obsessive, it’s just his dream. And he is one of the rare children whose actions match his words. He’s driven by the opportunity to be great.”

Like Stroupe, Christensen communicates with Raiola throughout the season. But Glenn Thomas, the Huskers’ first-year quarterbacks coach, and offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield are handling every part of the game preparation.

“Too much information can muddy the waters,” Christensen said.

His conversations with Raiola focus on the essentials. For example, as he did with Mahomes, Christensen reminds the QB of the cause and effect of proper ball flight.

There is a fine line for Raiola when it comes to his touch vs. zip throw.

That pass from Dylan Raiola was pretty 🙌 @HuskerFootball #B1GFootball To @CFBONFOX 📺 pic.twitter.com/7cEgDmr17l

— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) August 31, 2024

“For me it’s just kind of a feeling thing,” Raiola said. “It’s an instinct that has been trained over and over again.”

In four games he has hardly made a mistake. His two interceptions in 88 attempts were both ripped out of the hands of Nebraska receivers.

“His preparation allows him to see what happens in game time,” Rhule said.

“Just like Patrick”

The Mahomes contest first went viral in July after Nebraska shared a photo of Raiola at the start of preseason camp.

He just walked across campus. Looks like Mahomes.

Mahomes, ever the good sport, joined in on the excitement.

Lil cuzzo!! 💪🏽🎯 https://t.co/PpjiPf2XVc

– Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) August 31, 2024

Two weeks ago, a question about Raiola came up in a Mahomes press conference. The quarterbacks practiced together.

“Honestly, it’s cool,” Mahomes said. “I was that guy. I grew up watching players. I loved A-Rod (Alex Rodriguez), playing shortstop and trying to make plays just like him. It helped me become the athlete I am.”

Each Raiola highlight offers an internet audience more low-hanging fruit. Raiola seems unfazed by the attention.

“He has a lot of pride, but no ego,” Rhule told NFL Network star Rich Eisen on his radio show last week. “You feel that immediately. And so you’re kind of drawn to him.”

As for the Mahomes comparison, Rhule is okay with it.

“The great thing is, he’s a winner, just like Patrick,” the Nebraska coach said on Eisen’s show.

Since rising to prominence as a high-profile candidate, Raiola has largely avoided social media.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him nervous,” said senior receiver Isaiah Neyor, Raiola’s top target this season. “It’s just in him. He’s a natural competitor.”

And he tries his best to act like a normal college athlete.

As planned, he answers questions from the media twice a week. He’s a fixture in the Devaney Center’s lower bowl to watch Nebraska’s second-ranked volleyball team — usually alongside his sister Taylor, a former TCU volleyball player who works for Nebraska football in a recruiting position.

Two years ago, before Rhule called Christensen to inquire about Dylan, and before the Huskers waited while the QB helped Georgia recruit its 2024 class, Rhule watched Dylan go through a workout as a high school junior.

Fresh out of the NFL after more than two seasons as coach of the Carolina Panthers, Rhule spoke to a Nebraska recruiting official as practice ended.

The first question to the coach: “What did he look like?”

“He’s Mahomes.”

(Photos by Dylan Raiola, Patrick Mahomes: Steven Branscombe / Getty Images, Jay Biggerstaff / Imagn Images)