While Nebraska football quarterback Dylan Raiola has gotten off to a great start to the season, his haters have come out swinging at the way he seemingly mimics Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes. However, the sophomore signal caller has an expected defender in the form of former NFL MVP Cam Newton.
Newton talked about the Raiola haters during a recent episode of the 4th & 1 podcast. Newton took on a TikToker in particular who was complaining about the way that Raiola acts and how it seems like he's copying Mahomes. Newton made it clear that while he was commenting on one post, he was addressing his comments to the legion of people who have focused more on the supposed mimicry than on the way he's playing the game.
Cam Newton comes for Dylan Raiola detractors and defends the Nebraska football star
Raiola’s been called a Mahomes clone. Cam says that’s NOT a bad thing… do you agree? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/0zASWdaqAr
— 4th&1 with Cam Newton (@4thand1show) September 26, 2025
"What's wrong with shaping your life behind somebody that’s great?" Newton said about the Nebraska quarterback. "The young man that made that TikTok video, what's his name?" Newton asked his cohost, who responded, "This guy."
"Yeah, exactly," Newton then said. "This guy sounds like that guy sounds like that…That also covers sports in a way that does the TikTok thing, where they talk over here and they use this and they use that. So is he not doing what somebody else has done before him? What makes your content any different?"
"That's the issue with this day and age of people. People don't get flowers anymore. People don't dream anymore. People don't sit up and say, 'Hey, bro, you know what... I'm a fan of you, bro."
Nebraska football star has surprising defender
"The great coach John Wooden said, 'Anything that you've learned has been taught through multiple different ways, directly or indirectly.' Something that you saw, that you were a fan of.' You're not the only person who said, you know what, let me wear a hat, let me wear a jersey, and let me wear a scarf around my doggone outfit. We all want to mimic greatness."
"How many times was Michael Jordan mimicked? Kobe Bryant, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Michael Vick. There's no Cam Newton without Michael Vick! And I say it to the top of my lungs."
Newton's comments should be the end of all the hate on the Nebraska football quarterback. The focus on how Dylan Raiola acts over how he plays made some sense in his first year in college football. Now that he's a sophomore, the focus needs to change.