Dylan Raiola is at a crossroads. The Nebraska Cornhuskers were supposed to be cooking in 2024, but instead, they got served up a cold plate of mediocrity. A 7-6 finish? That ain’t what the hype train promised. And Raiola? The former five-star QB made headlines all season—for everything except his game. Yeah, they finally broke the bowl drought with a Pinstripe Bowl dub, but let’s be real—this wasn’t the breakout year Nebraska fans were dreaming of. Now, here’s where things get spicy.

Raiola has been catching comparisons to Patrick Mahomes all year, but right now, he’s more of a Wish version than the real deal. The good news? He’s got time to change that. And according to football analysts, if he wants to live up to the ‘Baby Mahomes’ hype, he needs to take 2 pages straight out of the Chiefs superstar’s playbook.

On December 28th, former NFL linebacker and 1st-round pick Adam Carriker brought Nebraska insider Sean Callahan onto his show, ‘Carriker Chronicles’ to break down Raiola’s 1st year and what needs to change in Year 2. Callahan kept it real: “I want to see the ba-l get out of his hands quicker. You watch the guys in the NFL—they don’t hold the ba-l that long. Mahomes, Joe Burrow—they’re getting the ba-l out quick, which tells you they understand what they’re looking at a high level.” 

Translation? Raiola’s gotta stop playing backyard football and start firing that rock like a pro. The throwing windows in the NFL are blink-and-you-miss-it-tight. In college, your O-line might give you 3 to 3.5 seconds. In the league? You’re working with 2.5-3.2 seconds max before 250-pound linebackers with single-digit body fat are in your face. Mahomes learned that early, and it’s why he’s the NFL’s QB1—he processes defenses like a chess grandmaster and lets the pigskin fly before chaos even unfolds in the pocket.

Then there’s the 2nd issue. “I want to see mobility too,” Callahan continued. “What did Patrick Mahomes do? He used his legs in the big games, in the big moments. Can Dylan Raiola maybe drop 10 to 15 pounds, trim up a little bit, and get that extra step to convert those third-and-eight runs? Because I do think that is the difference in finishing a game off.” Patrick Mahomes ain’t afraid to make the run when pressure tries to catch in the pocket. Mahomes does it all the time in the playoffs, extending the plays on his feet and getting the Chiefs to a 1st to the 1st down.

Callahan even pointed out a game-changing moment against USC last season. “Nebraska had a chance to get the ba-l back against Jayden Maiava. What did he do? He ran a zone read option play, got the first down, and they won the game with his legs in that situation.” That’s the Mahomes blueprint—he’s not the fastest QB on the field, but when the pocket collapses, he turns on just enough juice to keep drives alive. And guess what? He’s done it over and over again in the playoffs, racking up over 580 rushing yards and 8 rushing TDs, 2nd-most in playoffs history. Raiola needs that in his bag.

Is Dylan Raiola meant to be Mahomes?

Raiola’s obsession with Mahomes isn’t new. The 5-star QB showed up to Nebraska’s training camp last summer looking exactly like him—goatee, sunglasses, even the same curly mohawk. The resemblance had people dubbing him ‘Baby Mahomes.’ Then, this week, right after the Chiefs punched their ticket to the Super Bowl against the Bills, Raiola popped up in the Arrowhead locker room, chilling with Mahomes and Isiah Pacheco. “That ain’t Pat,” Pacheco joked, panning his camera to Raiola.

Mahomes himself has taken notice of the comparisons. Back in September, Mahomes gave props to his clone: “It’s cool, honestly. I was that guy. I know Dylan, I train with him in the offseason. He’s a great kid, a great football player. I think he is going to make his own stamp on the game and I think you’ve seen that early in his career.” That’s a major co-sign, but let’s keep it real—Mahomes’ stamp on the game ain’t just about arm talent. It’s the processing speed. The playmaking instincts. The ability to move the chains when everything else breaks down. Right now, Raiola has the arm, but he’s missing the sauce.

So what’s next? With new offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen coming in, Nebraska is low-key expected to lean into a more aggressive, uptempo attack. That means quicker reads, faster decisions, and more improvisation—basically, Mahomes’ bread and butter. If Raiola wants to take that leap in Year 2, he’s gotta level up in those areas. The good news? He’s got the right blueprint and the whole Lincoln standing behind him. The bad news? The Mahomes comp won’t mean anything if he doesn’t start playing like him.