Nebraska Cornhuskers Legend Compares New Elite 5-Star QB to Patrick Mahomes

The Nebraska Cornhuskers landed five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola this past offseason and he already has Husker nation taking big, despite having yet to play a down of college football.

According to ESPN, Raiola is the highest-ranked recruit to come to Nebraska since they started tracking recruiting rankings in 2026. He was the No. 8 overall recruit and the top overall pocket-passing quarterback in the 2024 recruiting class.

Nebraska Cornhuskers Legend Mike Minter had strong praises for Dylan Raiola, including a comparison to Patrick Mahomes

Former Nebraska Cornhuskers All-Big 12 defensive back Mike Minter visited the Huskers’ spring practice and was impressed by the entire team, but was chiefly impressed by quarterback Dylan Raiola.

On 93.7 The Ticket, Minter said Raiola was already doing things in the first two weeks of practice that NFL quarterbacks still have trouble doing.

Mike Minter’s Early Review of Dylan Raiola https://t.co/CJUGzD5H7v via @YouTube

— Jim in MN (@HuskersMN) April 9, 2024

Minter also told Mitch Sherman of The Athletic that Raiola is further along at this stage in his development than Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was.

“The youngness is going to show up,” Minter said. “That’s what people are going to see when he makes a mistake. But this man is elite. He’s Patrick Mahomes. I mean, literally, not Patrick Mahomes 10 years down the road (from college).”

But at 18 years old, according to Minter, Raiola is better than Mahomes at that stage of his development.

“To me, it’s about the mindset,” Minter said. “Does Dylan have the mindset to develop himself year in and year out? Because that’s the key. You can come in great, better than Patrick, but Patrick kept working to become what he is today.

“And he’s still doing it.”

Nebraska Cornhuskers QB Dylan Raiola will have a tough path to follow if he wants to be as good as Patrick Mahomes was in college

While Raiola may have the potential to statistically surpass Mahomes‘ numbers in his freshman year, it would largely be because Mahomes was not the starter for the entire year.

Although he played in seven games during his freshman year, Mahomes was only the team’s leading passer for three of those games. He finished that year with 1,547 yards passing and 16 touchdowns on just four interceptions.

By the end of his freshman year, Mahomes was firing on all cylinders. Although his stats are inflated by Texas Tech’s air raid offense, Mahomes threw for 598 yards and six touchdowns against the No. 7 team in the nation to finish out his freshman year.

Throughout the next two years, Mahomes would solidify himself as an NFL-level quarterback. He threw for 4,653 yards, 36 touchdowns and 15 interceptions his sophomore year on a 63.5% completion rate. He improved upon those numbers significantly in his junior year, throwing for over 5,000 yards with 41 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions on a 65.7% completion rate.

Patrick Mahomes at Texas Tech

• 93 Passing TDs (29 INTs)
• 11,252 Passing Yards
• 63.5%
• 845 Rushing Yards
• 22 Rushing TDs
• Drafted #10 Overall (2017) pic.twitter.com/Us254N5nzm

— College Football Report (@CFBRep) August 1, 2023

Raiola does not have to put up numbers that are even close to what Mahomes did to solidify himself as the best quarterback Nebraska has had this century.

What does Dylan Raiola have to do to become a top-tier quarterback in Nebraska Cornhuskers’ history

The all-time leading passer for the Nebraska Cornhuskers is Tommy Armstrong Jr., who played from 2013 to 2016. Armstrong Jr. threw for 8,871 yards and 67 touchdowns with 44 interceptions.

While Husker fans may look back fondly on Armstrong Jr.’s time due to the abysmal quarterback play of the recent past, he is far from being considered one of the best to ever do it at Nebraska. He is also the last quarterback to lead the Cornhuskers to a bowl win.

Tommy Armstrong Jr, QB #4
6’1, 200 Steele HS 2012

.9037 Composite
—2011
106/183, 1945 passing, 29 TD’s, 2 INT’s
153/1281 rushing, 16 TD’s
4.5, 40

Offers: Baylor, Colorado, TCU, Missouri, etc.@HuskerFootball
8,971 Passing, 67 TD’s, 44 INT’s
1819 Rushing, 23 TD’s
Last Bowl W 👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/Wdg55CYWv7

— What does the film say? (@Huskers_film) November 2, 2023

Former Nebraska quarterback Eric Crouch, who played from 1998 to 2001, won a Heisman with the Huskers. He only had 4,481 yards passing in his career, but it was the plays he made on his feet that won him college football’s most prestigious award. He had 3,434 rushing yards and 59 rushing touchdowns throughout his Nebraska career.

🎥 (2001) Eric Crouch turns a safety into a 100-yard TD scramble

– 1st of 2 Heisman Moments (OU)
– Nebraska fans take over Mizzou pic.twitter.com/P0qmDnM9rC

— Pick Six Previews (@PickSixPreviews) March 9, 2019

Although he didn’t win the Heisman, National Championship-winning quarterback Tommie Frazier is widely considered one of the best quarterbacks in Nebraska history.

The triple-option offense he led only allowed him to amass 3,521 passing yards during his Nebraska career. Like Crouch, his running ability is what made him elite. He had 1,955 yards on the ground and 36 rushing touchdowns during his time with the Huskers, which was from 1992 to 1995.

#ThrowbackThursday Tommie Frazier w/ the greatest run in college football history, 1996 Fiesta Bowl. 🐐 #NeverForget pic.twitter.com/Sk9bUfc9D1

— College Sports Only (@CollegeSportsO) July 28, 2016

It will be difficult to compare a pocket-passing quarterback like Raiola to the legendary athletic running quarterbacks of Nebraska’s past. That being said, a bowl game appearance and a positive touchdown-interception ratio will have Husker fans carrying Raiola out on their shoulders.

The abysmal quarterback play of the 2023 season and the turnover-prone quarterback play of the last 20 years have Husker fans begging for an average quarterback. Raiola is touted as a quarterback who is well above average, but the bar for quarterback play in Nebraska is incredibly low.

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