Cornhuskers’ quarterback Dylan Raiola’s anticlimatic reply to the Patrick Mahomes imitation claims had the NFL world riled up.
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In an episode of Barstool Roundup, Nicky Smokes called out Raiola for denying the similarities in their looks. Co-host Rico Bosco backed Smokes, claiming that the youngster should’ve owned up to it, considering that Mahomes is “the best in the world”:
“Mahomes has been in the league for eight years. That kid’s a true freshman he’s probably 18-19 years old max so he grew up 10-11-12 years old which is like that fanboy age of watching Mahomes and idolizing him and mimicking him.”
The five-star recruit has been making headlines for his performances as well as for his Mahomes-inspired haircut, sunglasses, and even TD celebrations. However, he claimed that all the comparisons were baseless as ‘he never copied Mahomes’ style’.
While the Bar Stool Sports hosts asked Raiola “to come out and admit it,” Raiola has been getting a lot of hate for this perceived imitation.
Fans and analysts alike has been enjoying the whole Mahomes thing Raiola had going on, but the freshman soon started receiving some hate for taking it too far after he imitated the NFL QB’s high jump celebration.
So, Raiola denied the imitations claim during a press conference, saying he has always had the same haircut, and playing style. He admitted that he didnt even grow up watching Mahomes so his playing style is just his own.
As the hsots, point out, its completely fine for the youngster to want to imitate Mahomes, he is one of the best quarterbacks in the league after all. But fans have been trolling Raiola a little too much, so it would make sense for him to deny the claims too.
Whether or not the young QB is imitating Mahomes or not is irrelevant if he can continue to play like he has been playing. And even Mahomes himself has no problem with the youngester’s schtick.
Mahomes was impressed with Raiola’s looks: ‘I was that guy’
Talking about Raiola, Mahomes stated that he was impressed by the young quarterback’s looks when they met and they even practised together in the off-season.
He revealed that when he started his football journey, he was enticed by Alex Rodriguez’s style and tried to copy his short passes and Raiola modelling his looks after him was ‘flattering’.
It won’t be the first time an up-and-comer has tried to copy his idol player’s looks and off-field style but the NFL world will only take him seriously if he’s able to imitate Mahomes’ success on the field.
And Raiola has not disappointed even once since his debut. In his very first college game, he displayed his excellent passing, scored 2 touchdowns and covered 238 yards in the team’s dominating 40-7 win over UTEP.
The Corhhuskers have had all wins in the first three games of the season with the quarterback scoring 5 touchdowns and 670 passing yards. He even mopped the field with Deion Sanders-led Buffaloes, in a game that saw projected first pick Shedeur Sanders get benched.
For the young freshman, there is plenty of time to prove to the world that he’s not just his looks but a serious future contender for the Super Bowl, just like a young Mahomes. And if imitating Mahomes keeps him motivated, where’s the harm?
