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Nebraska

DeShaun Foster believes Dylan Raiola 'emulates' Patrick Mahomes

Screen Shot 2024-05-28 at 9.09.17 AMby: Kaiden Smith10/29/24kaiden__smith
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Adam Cairns (Columbus Dispatch) / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The UCLA Bruins are not just coming off of a bye week, but their first conference win of the season after defeating Rutgers in Week 8. Now tasked with facing off against a Nebraska team on the road that just took No. 4 ranked Ohio State down to the wire.

Nebraska true freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola has impressed this season and has also drawn plenty of comparisons to Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the process. From his looks to his style off the field and play style on the field, Raiola models his game after one of the best quarterbacks that’s ever played and has even worked out with Mahomes in the offseason.

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UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster has gotten familiar with Raiola ahead of Saturday’s game. But is even more familiar with Mahomes from his previous coaching stop in Lubbock.

“I was with Pat Mahomes in ’16 at Texas Tech. So it’s crazy when you see him (Raiola) because yeah, he really does emulate Pat,” Foster said on Monday.

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Foster has spent plenty of time with the Bruins. A star running back for the team, a student and graduate assistant for UCLA, and the team’s running backs coach before being named the head coach ahead of the season. But he also spent one season with the Red Raiders in 2016 as their running backs coach in what ended up being Mahomes’ final breakout college season before moving on to the NFL.

Mahomes led the country in passing yards (5,052) and total touchdowns (53) in 2016 for Texas Tech. And while Raiola hasn’t quite reached those heights yet as a true freshman, his growth has been apparent.

“You can tell he’s getting more comfortable,” Foster said. “He has a big arm so he’s gonna try to make plays, but I’m excited for our DBs, and our front, and our linebackers, and everybody. He’s playing good ball.”

After throwing nine touchdown passes through the first five games of his college career, Raiola has not found the end zone in Nebraska’s last three matchups. A trend he’ll look to reverse and the Bruins will look to maintain as the two Big Ten teams square off at 3:30 p.m. ET this Saturday in Lincoln.