Patrick Mahomes shares opinion on Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola mimicry

Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola has not hidden his apparent admiration for Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

In fact, he appears to be doing everything in his power to mimic the three-time Super Bowl champion.

This is something college football and pro football fans have been discussing aplenty on social media. It's uncanny how much Raiola looks and acts like Mahomes, both before and during football games.

What's crazy is that Raiola says he doesn't actually try to mimic Mahomes. He says he has had the same haircut since before he even knew Mahomes existed and says he is trying "to do my own thing."

When asked about how Raiola appears to be his doppelganger, Mahomes had plenty to say, per Jared Koller of KCTV5.

"Yeah, I mean, it's cool, honestly. I mean, I was that guy," Mahomes said. "I loved Alex Rodriguez, played shortstop, and would try to make plays just like him and do stuff like that, and it helped me become the athlete that I am. It's just telling me I'm getting a little old. I think that the biggest thing is that you have these guys that are coming up and doing some of the sidearm stuff and everything like that. But I know Dylan, I train with them in the offseasons, great kid, a great football player, and I think he's gonna make his own stamp on the game. And I think you've seen that early in his career."

It's pretty cool of Mahomes to approach all this with such a welcoming perspective. He also affirmed Raiola, noting he did similar things when he was a kid.

"We all did it when we were kids. I remember copying the swings of baseball icons like Ken Giffrey Jr (albeit from the right side, not the left), Gary Sheffield, and eventually the hilarious but effective stance of Kevin Youkilis. Key difference here – I did this when I was a child, not as a Division 1 athlete as the starting quarterback on Saturdays for a storied program."

Mahomes also added that he thinks Raiola is approaching things the right way.

"I don't know if – whenever you come in as a freshman, you want to be on Twitter and be that part of the team. I think he wants it to be about his team. And I think that's the right way to play the quarterback position. It's not about you. It's about going out there and having success as as a team, and they've done that so far this year. So even though I think he just kind of wants to push us out and play football and go out there and win the football games, I think that's the right way to play the position."

It remains to be seen if Raiola can have success similar to what Mahomes accomplished during his collegiate career. So far, the results are promising. In his first two games, he's completed 73.7 percent of his passes for 423 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions while leading the Cornhuskers to an early 2-0 record.