Desmond Ridder

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Desmond Ridder
Cincinnati Bearcats – No. 9
PositionQuarterback
Class
Redshirt
Senior
Personal information
Born: (1999-08-31) August 31, 1999 (age 22)
Louisville, Kentucky
Height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight215 lb (98 kg)
Career history
College
Bowl games
High schoolSt. Xavier
(Louisville, Kentucky)
Career highlights and awards


Desmond Ridder (born August 31, 1999) is an American football quarterback for the Cincinnati Bearcats.

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 his grandmother in the city's The Highlands neighborhood. His step-father and his family became significant in Desmond’s life when he was 5 years old. Desmond attended Holy Family Parochial school. Growing up, Desmond had a large X on his bedroom wall. He aspired to go to St. Xavier High School and he did.[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 officially signed.[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 and also rushing for 105 yards and three more touchdowns in a 38-6 victory over Boston College.[9]

The 2020 season would prove to be a breakout campaign for the 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 nine games during a 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]

Statistics[]

Season Games Passing Rushing
GP GS Cmp Att Pct Yards Avg TD Int Rtg Att Yards Avg TD
2018 13 11 194 311 62.4 2,445 7.9 20 5 146.4 150 572 3.8 5
2019 13 13 179 325 55.1 2,164 6.7 18 9 123.7 144 650 4.5 5
2020 10 10 186 281 66.2 2,296 8.2 19 6 152.9 98 592 6.0 12
2021 13 13 234 355 65.9 3,190 9.0 30 8 164.8 100 361 3.6 6
Career 49 47 793 1,272 62.3 10,095 7.9 87 28 147.2 491 2,186 4.5 28

Game statistics updated through Dec 4, 2021[17]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c 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. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  3. ^ Frakes, Jason (May 16, 2016). "St. X quarterback Desmond Ridder commits to Cincinnati". USA Today High School Sports. 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. 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.

External links[]

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