Dylan Raiola wears jersey No. 15 for surprising reason

Sep 7, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola (15) leads the team into the facilities before the game against the Colorado Buffaloes at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola has drawn tons of attention for his resemblance to Patrick Mahomes both in his looks and his play. He even wears jersey number 15 on the field. But Raiola claims he wears 15 not for Mahomes, but for another reason.

Raiola said last month that he started wearing jersey number 15 because of his admiration of Tim Tebow, who wore the number at Florida.

“I wore 15 my first year of football. Tim Tebow, you know, strong, Christian person. Played football at Florida. I look up to people that have good character and are a good person. He was that guy at the time,” Raiola said.

Despite the Mahomes connection… Dylan Raiola says he wears number 15 for another QB. "I look up to people that have great character." @TimTebow pic.twitter.com/d3oNgzB9jh

— Darren Winberg (@DarrenWinbergTV) August 2, 2024

Tebow was at the height of his powers from 2006-2009 when he won two national championships for Florida and a Heisman Trophy. But his NFL career only lasted from 2010-2012 before he fizzled out and later tried playing professional baseball.

Raiola was born in 2005, so he probably only remembers Tebow from the NFL days. It’s no surprise that Mahomes — who has been an NFL star since 2018 — is the one who Raiola now models his game after. Mahomes has been a star throughout Raiola’s middle school and high school years.

Raiola entered Nebraska as a top recruit. Through two games this season, Raiola has passed for 423 yards and 3 touchdowns for the 2-0 Cornhuskers.

H/T B/R