Desmond Ridder

Desmond Ridder (born August 31, 1999) is an American football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Cincinnati, where he was twice-named AAC Offensive Player of the Year before being selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

Desmond Ridder
Ridder with the Cincinnati Bearcats in 2021
No. 4 – Atlanta Falcons
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1999-08-31) August 31, 1999
Louisville, Kentucky
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:211 lb (96 kg)
Career information
High school:St. Xavier (Louisville)
College:Cincinnati (2017–2021)
NFL Draft:2022 / Round: 3 / Pick: 74
Career history
Roster status:Unsigned draft pick
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2022
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Early life and high school career

Ridder was born in Louisville, Kentucky, to a 15-year-old mother and was raised by his mother and grandmother. He attended Holy Family Parochial before attending St. Xavier High School.[1]

As a senior at St. Xavier, Ridder passed for 1,319 yards and nine touchdowns and also led the Tigers in rushing with 668 yards and 12 touchdowns and was named All-Metro.[2] He was rated as a two-star recruit by Rivals.com and a three-star recruit by 24/7 Sports and committed to play college football at the University of Cincinnati over an offer from Eastern Kentucky.[1][3] He received his scholarship offer from Cincinnati head coach Tommy Tuberville following a tryout held on the morning of the Kentucky Oaks for offensive coordinator Zac Taylor during his junior year. After Tuberville resigned during his senior year, new coach Luke Fickell honored the offer and Ridder signed his National Letter of Intent.[1]

College career

Ridder redshirted his true freshman season.[4] He became the Bearcats' starting quarterback as a redshirt freshman and passed for 2,445 yards and 20 touchdowns and gained 583 yards rushing along with five touchdowns and was named the American Athletic Conference (AAC) Rookie of the Year.[5][6]

As a redshirt sophomore, Ridder completed 179 of 325 passes for 2,164 yards and 18 touchdowns against nine interceptions while also rushing for 650 yards and five touchdowns.[7][8] He was named the MVP of the 2020 Birmingham Bowl completing 14-of-24 passes for 95 yards and one touchdown, while also rushing for 105 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-6 victory over Boston College.[9]

The 2020 season would prove to be a breakout campaign for the junior QB. Ridder was named the Walter Camp Offensive Player of the Week and the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback of the Week after completing 13-of-21 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown and also rushing eight times for 179 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-13 win over 16th-ranked SMU on October 24, 2020.[10][11][12][13] At the conclusion of the regular season, Ridder was named the AAC Offensive Player of the Year after passing 2,296 yards, and 19 touchdowns with six interceptions, while also rushing for 592 yards and 12 touchdowns, in only nine games due to the COVID-19-shortened season.[14] Ridder considered declaring for the 2021 NFL Draft, but opted to return for his redshirt senior season.[15]

For the second time in his career, Ridder was named the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback of the Week after the No. 7 Bearcats defeated No. 9 Notre Dame on the road. Ridder went 19-of-32 for 297 yards and two TDs. In addition, he rushed for 26 yards and a game-sealing fourth quarter touchdown as the Bearcats snapped the Fighting Irish’s 26-game home winning streak.[16] Following an unbeaten 12-0 season, Ridder and the Bearcats went into the 2021 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game ranked number four in the AP Polls, meaning a victory would see them stay in a playoff spot. Following a 35-20 win over the Houston Cougars, they became the first Group of Five team to make the playoffs, as well as the last major undefeated team going into the post-season. Ridder and Cincinnati would fall 27-6 to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the college football playoff semi-finals, finishing his final year in college with 30 passing touchdowns, six rushing touchdowns, and just eight interceptions, in what was the best season in the program's history.

Statistics
Season Games Passing Rushing
GPGSCmpAttPctYdsAvgTDIntRtgAttYdsAvgTD
2018 131119431162.42,4457.9205146.41505723.85
2019 131317932555.12,1646.7189123.71446504.55
2020 101018628166.22,2968.2196152.9985926.012
2021 141425138764.93,3348.6308158.71103553.26
Career[17]50488101,30462.110,2397.98728145.85012,1804.428

Professional career
Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jump
6 ft 3+3⁄8 in
(1.91 m)		 211 lb
(96 kg)		 32+3⁄4 in
(0.83 m)		 10 in
(0.25 m)		4.52 s1.54 s2.59 s4.29 s7.15 s36.0 in
(0.91 m)		10 ft 7 in
(3.23 m)
All values from NFL Combine[18][19]

Ridder was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the third round, 74th overall, in the 2022 NFL Draft.[20]

References
  1. Forde, Pat (November 19, 2020). "Midwestern Revival Tour: Cincinnati". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  2. Frakes, Jason (August 16, 2016). "All-Metro: St. Xavier QB Desmond Ridder". USA Today High School Sports. Archived from the original on 2016-08-20. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  3. Frakes, Jason (May 16, 2016). "St. X quarterback Desmond Ridder commits to Cincinnati". USA Today High School Sports. Archived from the original on 2016-05-17. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  4. Springer, Scott (March 13, 2019). "Will Desmond Ridder be a four-year starter for UC like QB coach Gino Guidugli?". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Archived from the original on 2019-03-13. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  5. "How Desmond Ridder won UC's starting quarterback job and sparked the Bearcats' turnaround". Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  6. Williams, Justin (August 9, 2019). "Desmond Ridder is still the same. Desmond Ridder has changed". The Athletic. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  7. "Desmond Ridder and the man in the mirror". The Athletic. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  8. "Where Desmond Ridder stands after Cincinnati Bearcats first month of the season". The Cincinnati Enquirer. October 3, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  9. Goldberg, Rob (January 2, 2020). "Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati Dominate Boston College in 2020 Birmingham Bowl". Bleacher Report. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  10. "Ridder named Walter Camp FBS Offensive Player of the Week". Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  11. "Desmond Ridder runs, passes No. 19 Cincinnati past No. 16 SMU". Orlando Sentinel. Associated Press. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  12. Williams, Justin (October 27, 2020). "How Desmond Ridder ran wild and some defensive 'sorcery' in UC's win over SMU". The Athletic. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  13. "Cincy's Ridder Nation quarterback of the week". Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  14. "American Announces 2020 Football Postseason Honors" (Press release). American Athletic Conference. December 15, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  15. Rittenberg, Adam (January 8, 2021). "QB Desmond Ridder returning to Cincinnati for 2021 season". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  16. "Cincinnati's Ridder Tabbed Davey O'Brien National Quarterback of the Week". Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  17. "Desmond Ridder: Stats". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  18. "Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  19. "Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati, QB, 2022 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
  20. "Falcons select QB Desmond Ridder with No. 74 overall 2022 NFL Draft pick". www.atlantafalcons.com. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
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