![Dylan Raiola]()
Crazy off-platform side-arm laser of a throw over the middle? Check. Rocket launcher deep ball for your first college touchdown? Check. Filthy, perfectly-placed back-shoulder throw for another score? Check.
Yep. Nebraska true freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola
was all that and a bag of potato chips, just as he was hyped up to be, in his first collegiate action for the Cornhuskers in a 40-7 rout of UTEP. Not that the Miners are the most formidable foe, but still, you're looking for signs that Raiola was indeed worthy of the 5-star label he garnered coming out of Georgia's Buford High School.
Speaking of Georgia, on a day where another hella hyped
blue-chip QB recruit Cade Klubnik and Clemson got drubbed 34-3 by the Bulldogs in a woefully underwhelming marquee matchup, Raiola redeemed a rather sleepy Week 1 Saturday with his electrifying performance. I kind of spoiled the biggest highlights, but they go as follows:
https://twitter.com/twosuh/status/1829970942929293528
You can see
the uncanny resemblance to Kansas City Chiefs superstar Patrick Mahomes — and I don't mean just in their appearance.
https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1818708048644390915
Then there was this dot of a back-shoulder throw, the second TD toss for Raiola on a day where he completed 19 of 28 attempts for 238 yards.
https://twitter.com/BigRedRant/status/1829992673266356380
https://twitter.com/CFBONFOX/status/1829991794102177875
How cool is it, though, to have Mahomes give a personal shout out? The reigning back-to-back Super Bowl MVP took time from his busy schedule in preparation for Thursday's NFL season opener against the Ravens?
https://twitter.com/CFBONFOX/status/1830016643075870895
Raiola's father Dominic played at Nebraska, and it took Dylan some convincing to follow in his footsteps to Lincoln. In fact,
Raiola was committed to Georgia at first, only to flip at the end of last year. The elder Raiola went on to the NFL as a center for the Detroit Lions, where he got close with Matthew Stafford, hence his status as Dylan's godfather.
https://twitter.com/RamsBrothers/status/1830019434104438935
Talk about a lot to live up to, though. Raiola has an NFL alum dad, a Super Bowl champion QB as his god father, and is most often compared to the potential GOAT successor to Tom Brady. And yet, he's handling it all in stride and seems to be mature beyond his years.
https://twitter.com/B1Gfootball/status/1830019629831307379
Nebraska football hasn't been a powerhouse for quite some time. In Matt Rhule's latest rebuilding project, the Cornhuskers might very well be on their way to returning to that status thanks in large part to the uber-talented X-factor that is Dylan Raiola.
