Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes Jokes Dylan Raiola's Tributes Tell Him He's 'a Little Old'

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes says it makes him feel "a little old" to watch lookalike Nebraska signal caller Dylan Raiola emulate his style before NCAA games.

"It's cool, honestly," Mahomes said on Wednesday (h/t KCTV 5's Jared Koller.) "I was that guy. I grew up watching players. I remember, when I would grow up, I loved Alex Rodriguez, played shortstop, and would try to make plays just like him, and do stuff like that. It helped me become the athlete that I am. It's just telling me I'm getting a little old, that's the biggest thing. 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 him in the offseason. Great kid, he's a great football player. I think he's going to make his own stamp on the game, and I think you've seen that early in his career."

Raiola has been playing up his resemblance to Mahomes by dressing like the Chiefs quarterback during the Cornhuskers' 2024 season.

The Cornhuskers are off to a 2-0 start this season as Raiola has gone 42-of-57 for 423 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Raiola was named Big Ten freshman of the week after throwing for 238 yards and two touchdowns in his Aug. 31 college debut against UTEP.

"I think he wants it to be about his team, and that's the right way to play the quarterback position, is that it's not about you, it's about going out there and having success as a team," Mahomes said. "They've done that so far this year... I think he just kind of wants to push this aside and play football, push that aside and play football games, and I think that's the right way to play the position."

This is not the first time Mahomes has praised Raiola's success this season. The Chiefs quarterback shared a clip of Raiola's 59-yard touchdown pass against UTEP with the caption "Lil cuzzo."

Raiola shared Mahomes' post on his Instagram story with the caption "Learned behavior."

The Huskers quarterback spent the summer before his college offseason training in Kansas City with Mahomes' trainer, Bobby Stroupe, Sam McKewon reported for Husker Extra.

"I just want to be around greatness," Raiola said about the opportunity to practice with Mahomes, per McKewon. "Obviously he's going down as one of the greats already. But just trying to take it all in and elevate my game as much as I can."

Raiola may be emulating Mahomes' offseason routine, dress and sidearm passing abilities, but he recently told reporters his No. 15 jersey is not an homage to the Chiefs quarterback but rather a nod to former Florida star quarterback Tim Tebow.

He and Nebraska are back in action on Saturday against Northern Iowa, while Mahomes and the similarly undefeated Chiefs head into Week 2 to face the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.