Breaking: UCLA Football Coach DeShaun Foster Gets Major Confirmation
Foster, whose Bruins face Nebraska this week, was an assistant at Texas Tech when Mahomes starred for the Red Raiders
UCLA football coach DeShaun Foster believes the comparisons between Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola and Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes are justified. Foster coached running backs at Texas Tech during Mahomes’ time with the Red Raiders, and he’s excited to see Raiola, especially as the Huskers and Bruins prepare to meet for the first time as Big Ten rivals on Saturday.
“You can see he’s becoming more confident,” Foster said of Raiola. “He has a strong arm and is always looking to make plays. I’m looking forward to seeing how our defensive backs, front line, linebackers, and everyone else match up. He’s playing well. I was with Pat Mahomes in 2016 at Texas Tech, so it’s fascinating to see how much Raiola resembles him.”
Raiola generated buzz this offseason when he arrived at fall camp with a mohawk fade and ski glasses, a style associated with Mahomes. The NFL star referred to the five-star freshman as his “little cuzzo” after the photo went viral. Raiola wears No. 15, just like Mahomes, and worked with his quarterback trainer, Jeff Christensen, over the offseason. Nebraska coach Matt Rhule even likened Raiola to Mahomes before he had taken a snap for the Huskers.
“He wears No. 15 and models much of his game after Patrick Mahomes,” Rhule said when signing Raiola last December. “While there’s only one Pat Mahomes, Dylan has certainly worked hard on making off-platform throws. He possesses exceptional arm talent, arguably as good as anyone I’ve encountered. He can make all the throws, so there’s not much of a transition for him.”
Raiola has completed 66.1% of his passes for 1,744 yards, with nine touchdowns and seven interceptions in his first eight college games. He threw all nine of his touchdown passes in the first five weeks of the season but has struggled in his last three games, failing to surpass 200 yards twice and posting a 0-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
“If you look at the last four games and factor in all the defensive pass interference yardage from our many go routes, that would contribute to Dylan’s passing yardage,” Rhule mentioned this week. “He recognizes the areas he’s improving, and there’s no better teacher than experience. He’s gaining valuable experience. Ohio State challenged him with a lot this week, and Rutgers did too, but this week presented even more complexity than he’s encountered before, and he adjusted well and handled it effectively.”
Raiola is ranked as the No. 7 overall prospect and the No. 2 quarterback in the 2024 class. He is the highest-rated quarterback to commit to the Huskers in the modern recruiting era (since 2000) and is the second-highest-rated overall prospect, following running back Marlon Lucky, who was ranked in 2005.