Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule says he has been comparing freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola to Patrick Mahomes long before Raiola went viral for his resemblance to the Kansas City Chiefs star.

"When I got here, I went and watched [Raiola] throw in high school, and I texted our recruiting guy," Rhule said on Tuesday's episode of The Rich Eisen Show (1:00 mark of the video below.) "And he said, 'How's he look?' And I said, 'He's Mahomes.'

"And not just the facial, and the mannerisms. His arm, his ability to make throws off platform, just everything. That was my first instinct. So now it's kind of funny, to see everyone— I can't look at Instagram without seeing someone putting them side by side. But the great thing is he's a winner, just like Patrick is."

Raiola has helped Nebraska start the season with three straight wins while going 59-of-80 for 670 yards, five touchdowns and an interception.

The freshman quarterback has played up his resemblance to Mahomes by doing everything from dressing like the Chiefs star and imitating his pregame ritual to completing sidearm passes during games.

Mahomes, who recently told reporters it's "cool" to see Raiola emulate him, gave the freshman a shoutout after he threw a 59-yard touchdown pass against UTEP in his college debut.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with all of our players having high expectations and speaking belief into them," Rhule said. "I believe that Dylan has the chance to be one of the best players on the planet at some point.

"The key is, whether it's him, whether it's his family, whether it's our players, whether it's me— we just all have to make sure he continues to work at it, and all of our players continue to work at it."

Nebraska has won by at least 18 points in all three of Raiola's starts so far. Rhule noted that Raiola will develop further as he faces more adversity, something likely coming up later this season with upcoming contests against No. 3 Ohio State and No. 11 USC.

"So far, he's had all good days," Rhule said. "And the one thing I've said to him is, I've watched guys in the NFL, I've watched guys go off to the NFL, and at some point you're going to be defined by your bad days, and how you respond to those days."

Rhule added: "I think the great thing about Dylan is, because he stays so humble and grounded, he's always gonna know who he is, and if he does have a bad day, he'll bounce back."

Raiola is slated to get his fourth start for the Cornhuskers when No. 22 takes on No. 24 Illinois at home on Friday night.