TicketsBy Dan Hoard
GoBEARCATS.com
CINCINNATI - Redshirt freshman QB Desmond Ridder made his University of Cincinnati debut during the third series of the season opener in the Rose Bowl and hasn't looked back, starting the next four games and helping to lead the Bearcats to their best start to a season since 2012.
Recently, I sat down with Desmond for a q&a session.
What sports did you play as a kid?
I started out at the YMCA like most kids do. I played soccer, flag football, tee ball and basketball – all the sports. Then going into grade school, I narrowed it down to baseball, basketball, and football. I stopped playing baseball around my seventh or eighth grade year and focused mostly on football and basketball.
You were still small as of ninth grade right?
Freshman year I think I came in around 5'10", 150 (pounds). From my sophomore to junior year I was up to 6'4", 188 to 190.
Did you have to get new shoes and new clothes every month?
Yeah. My stepdad was excited when we were the same shoe size, but that only lasted for a couple of months. So he didn't get to save money for very long.
I saw a picture of you in an Eagles uniform at a really early age. Do you remember anything about that?
I grew up in my Grandma's house with my aunt, uncle and my mom. My aunt is a huge Eagles fan so one year for Halloween she got me an Eagles' outfit.
Did your grandmother teach you how to throw a football?
That's actually a funny story. My grandma did teach me how to throw a spiral. We were out in the front yard of her house one day after preschool. It was my grandma and my uncle and we were out there throwing it around. She taught me how to hold it and everything.
Your high school coach Will Wolford played in the NFL. What did that do for your development?
Since he's played at the highest level – as an offensive lineman not a quarterback – it was more mental than physical. He was able to explain to me what it was going to be like at the college level and how hard I'm going to be pushed mentally and physically. He really prepared me for the next step.
Coach Tuberville and his staff originally recruited you right?
Coach (Zac) Taylor is the one that recruited me. He still reaches out to me after games. It's been nice to stay in touch with him.
After the coaching staff changed, why did you decide to stay with Cincinnati?
It was still a place that I really liked. I think I was the first recruit to commit in my class and once I committed most recruiting stopped for me. I didn't know if I de-committed if I would get a scholarship from someone else or not. But then Coach Fick, Coach Brady (Collins), Coach Guidugli, and Coach Denbrock all came in and talked to me. I liked what they were doing and the recruits they were bringing in. I knew they were going to have something special.
Cincinnati and Eastern Kentucky. Was that it?
That was it. A couple of days before signing day Eastern Kentucky came to my house to try to get me to flip but I was loyal.
You're engaged. How old were you when you popped the question?
I did it on July 29th so I was 18. I turned 19 on August 31st.
That's crazy. I was in my late 30's and I thought that I was too young.
(Laughs) Both of our families saw it coming for a long time. It was just a matter of time.
Tell me about being engaged?
It's great. She's a beautiful girl with a beautiful family and it's one of the best things that's ever happened to me. We met in freshman year of high school at a movie theater. I walked in and was like, 'One day I hope to marry a girl like that if not her.' We stayed in contact throughout the years and then about two years later we started dating. I never even thought that would happen. I always thought, 'This girl is way too cute for me. Way too pretty.' My family loves her and I love her family so it's all working out.
Did your teammates bust your chops about popping the question so young?
They did, but they knew that she was the right one. They didn't give me too much of a hard time – especially since we have two other married guys on the team. It took a little pressure off of me.
Do you plan to get married soon?
We're looking at the spring of 2020. Right around the end of spring ball in about a year and a half. We're slowly starting to get rolling with the wedding plans.
You're going to use the football excuse for her to do all of the work right?
That's what I told her.
Other than sports, what are you interested in?
I'm very outdoorsy. I like to hunt and fish and get out on a farm and do some four-wheeling. I like to hang out with my friends around a campfire.
What are you studying?
Organizational leadership.
Sounds perfect for a quarterback.
It's very good. It teaches me different managerial ways and behaviors of leaders. It helps to go to class in the morning and then come out and use some of the things you learned out on the field.
You made a comment after the Ohio game where you said, 'No disrespect toward to any other team or person, but I think I'm the best player on the field.' Where does that confidence come from?
It was instilled in me at a young age that I could go out there and be better than the person across from me. I try to instill that in my teammates too that we can have 11 guys out there that dominate the line of scrimmage or the field as a whole. It's a fighting mentality – it's either win or go home.
What do you love about playing quarterback?
I love being able to control the game. Being able to decipher defenses. Getting in the film room and then putting it out on the field. I like being able to pass or run the ball. And one of the biggest things is just being a leader. I like to get the guys going.
When you take off and run you seem to surprise people with your long stride. Do you know how fast you are in the 40-yard dash?
In the offseason I ran a 4.59 hand-timed and a 4.6 laser (timed). I ran track my freshman year and like I said, I was pretty small. I knew I needed to work on my speed to play football. I ran a 5.44 (40-yard dash) my freshman year of football. Track helped me work on my stride.
Do you think your speed surprises people?
Definitely. Even some of my teammates last season. They would take the wrong angle because I might look slow but I'm not.
What's been your best throw so far?
I would say the touchdown pass to Medaris coming out of halftime against Ohio. We knew we needed to get something going and it was looking down once we got to third-and-12. I saw the coverage open up and I knew that we needed a big play so I took a shot and Rashad did the rest.
What did winning at UCLA do for your confidence?
It was good just to get in the first game. Coach told (Hayden Moore and me) that we were going to rotate, but just to get in and get the win was big. Maybe UCLA is not the greatest team right now but they're obviously going to get better and just going out and playing a team like UCLA really helped our confidence a lot.
You strike me as somebody who is really level-headed. Is that a good description of you?
I try to stay calm, cool, and collected.
Is the NFL your dream?
That's my one and only dream. A lot of people say, 'Have a Plan B.' I really don't have a Plan B because that's what I've grown up wanting to do – going all the way back to that Eagles picture. Every morning when I wake up, I know that I have to get better to make it to the next level.
If you're on Twitter, you can follow my tweets at http://twitter.com/Dan_Hoard
And I'm on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dan.hoard.1
GoBEARCATS.com
CINCINNATI - Redshirt freshman QB Desmond Ridder made his University of Cincinnati debut during the third series of the season opener in the Rose Bowl and hasn't looked back, starting the next four games and helping to lead the Bearcats to their best start to a season since 2012.
Recently, I sat down with Desmond for a q&a session.
What sports did you play as a kid?
I started out at the YMCA like most kids do. I played soccer, flag football, tee ball and basketball – all the sports. Then going into grade school, I narrowed it down to baseball, basketball, and football. I stopped playing baseball around my seventh or eighth grade year and focused mostly on football and basketball.
You were still small as of ninth grade right?
Freshman year I think I came in around 5'10", 150 (pounds). From my sophomore to junior year I was up to 6'4", 188 to 190.
Did you have to get new shoes and new clothes every month?
Yeah. My stepdad was excited when we were the same shoe size, but that only lasted for a couple of months. So he didn't get to save money for very long.
I saw a picture of you in an Eagles uniform at a really early age. Do you remember anything about that?
I grew up in my Grandma's house with my aunt, uncle and my mom. My aunt is a huge Eagles fan so one year for Halloween she got me an Eagles' outfit.
Did your grandmother teach you how to throw a football?
That's actually a funny story. My grandma did teach me how to throw a spiral. We were out in the front yard of her house one day after preschool. It was my grandma and my uncle and we were out there throwing it around. She taught me how to hold it and everything.
Your high school coach Will Wolford played in the NFL. What did that do for your development?
Since he's played at the highest level – as an offensive lineman not a quarterback – it was more mental than physical. He was able to explain to me what it was going to be like at the college level and how hard I'm going to be pushed mentally and physically. He really prepared me for the next step.
Coach Tuberville and his staff originally recruited you right?
Coach (Zac) Taylor is the one that recruited me. He still reaches out to me after games. It's been nice to stay in touch with him.
After the coaching staff changed, why did you decide to stay with Cincinnati?
It was still a place that I really liked. I think I was the first recruit to commit in my class and once I committed most recruiting stopped for me. I didn't know if I de-committed if I would get a scholarship from someone else or not. But then Coach Fick, Coach Brady (Collins), Coach Guidugli, and Coach Denbrock all came in and talked to me. I liked what they were doing and the recruits they were bringing in. I knew they were going to have something special.
Cincinnati and Eastern Kentucky. Was that it?
That was it. A couple of days before signing day Eastern Kentucky came to my house to try to get me to flip but I was loyal.
You're engaged. How old were you when you popped the question?
I did it on July 29th so I was 18. I turned 19 on August 31st.
That's crazy. I was in my late 30's and I thought that I was too young.
(Laughs) Both of our families saw it coming for a long time. It was just a matter of time.
Tell me about being engaged?
It's great. She's a beautiful girl with a beautiful family and it's one of the best things that's ever happened to me. We met in freshman year of high school at a movie theater. I walked in and was like, 'One day I hope to marry a girl like that if not her.' We stayed in contact throughout the years and then about two years later we started dating. I never even thought that would happen. I always thought, 'This girl is way too cute for me. Way too pretty.' My family loves her and I love her family so it's all working out.
Did your teammates bust your chops about popping the question so young?
They did, but they knew that she was the right one. They didn't give me too much of a hard time – especially since we have two other married guys on the team. It took a little pressure off of me.
Do you plan to get married soon?
We're looking at the spring of 2020. Right around the end of spring ball in about a year and a half. We're slowly starting to get rolling with the wedding plans.
You're going to use the football excuse for her to do all of the work right?
That's what I told her.
Other than sports, what are you interested in?
I'm very outdoorsy. I like to hunt and fish and get out on a farm and do some four-wheeling. I like to hang out with my friends around a campfire.
What are you studying?
Organizational leadership.
Sounds perfect for a quarterback.
It's very good. It teaches me different managerial ways and behaviors of leaders. It helps to go to class in the morning and then come out and use some of the things you learned out on the field.
You made a comment after the Ohio game where you said, 'No disrespect toward to any other team or person, but I think I'm the best player on the field.' Where does that confidence come from?
It was instilled in me at a young age that I could go out there and be better than the person across from me. I try to instill that in my teammates too that we can have 11 guys out there that dominate the line of scrimmage or the field as a whole. It's a fighting mentality – it's either win or go home.
What do you love about playing quarterback?
I love being able to control the game. Being able to decipher defenses. Getting in the film room and then putting it out on the field. I like being able to pass or run the ball. And one of the biggest things is just being a leader. I like to get the guys going.
When you take off and run you seem to surprise people with your long stride. Do you know how fast you are in the 40-yard dash?
In the offseason I ran a 4.59 hand-timed and a 4.6 laser (timed). I ran track my freshman year and like I said, I was pretty small. I knew I needed to work on my speed to play football. I ran a 5.44 (40-yard dash) my freshman year of football. Track helped me work on my stride.
Do you think your speed surprises people?
Definitely. Even some of my teammates last season. They would take the wrong angle because I might look slow but I'm not.
What's been your best throw so far?
I would say the touchdown pass to Medaris coming out of halftime against Ohio. We knew we needed to get something going and it was looking down once we got to third-and-12. I saw the coverage open up and I knew that we needed a big play so I took a shot and Rashad did the rest.
What did winning at UCLA do for your confidence?
It was good just to get in the first game. Coach told (Hayden Moore and me) that we were going to rotate, but just to get in and get the win was big. Maybe UCLA is not the greatest team right now but they're obviously going to get better and just going out and playing a team like UCLA really helped our confidence a lot.
You strike me as somebody who is really level-headed. Is that a good description of you?
I try to stay calm, cool, and collected.
Is the NFL your dream?
That's my one and only dream. A lot of people say, 'Have a Plan B.' I really don't have a Plan B because that's what I've grown up wanting to do – going all the way back to that Eagles picture. Every morning when I wake up, I know that I have to get better to make it to the next level.
If you're on Twitter, you can follow my tweets at http://twitter.com/Dan_Hoard
And I'm on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dan.hoard.1