Former Bearcats quarterback, Desmond Ridder is signed by the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Falcons in the third round (74th overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Ridder attended two senior high schools back in the day. His first school was Holy Family Parochial then later St. Xavier High School, where he played football.
Ridder was named All-Metro as a senior at St. Xavier, where he led the Tigers in rushing with 668 yards and 12 touchdowns while also leading the team in passing with 1,319 yards and nine touchdown passes.
He was a two-star recruit according to Rivals.com and a three-star recruit according to 24/7 Sports, however, he chose to play football for the University of Cincinnati rather than Eastern Kentucky.
After participating in a tryout for offensive coordinator Zac Taylor that was held on the morning of the Kentucky Oaks during his junior year, he was given a scholarship offer by the head coach of the Cincinnati Bearcats, Tommy Tuberville.
After Tuberville’s departure during Ridder’s senior year, the offer stood, and Ridder signed his National Letter of Intent with new coach Luke Fickell.
How Good Is Desmond Ridder?
During his time at Bearcats, Ridder was named the American Athletic Conference (AAC) Rookie of the Year after starting at quarterback for the Bearcats as a redshirt freshman and throwing for 2,445 yards and 20 touchdowns while also rushing for 583 yards and five scores.
Ridder threw for 2,164 yards and 18 touchdowns with just nine interceptions as a redshirt sophomore, and he added another 650 yards and five touchdowns. He led his team to a 38-6 victory over Boston College in the 2020 Birmingham Bowl by completing 14 of 24 passes for 95 yards and one touchdown and running for another 105 yards and three scores.
Desmond Ridder Career Awards And Stats
2× AAC Offensive Player of the Year (2020, 2021)
AAC Rookie of the Year (2018)
2× First-team All-AAC (2020, 2021)
Birmingham Bowl MVP (2020)
| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | 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 | 14 | 14 | 251 | 387 | 64.9 | 3,334 | 8.6 | 30 | 8 | 158.7 | 110 | 355 | 3.2 | 6 |
| Career | 50 | 48 | 810 | 1,304 | 62.1 | 10,239 | 7.9 | 87 | 28 | 145.8 | 501 | 2,180 | 4. |
What Happened To Desmond Ridder?
Desmond Ridder doesn’t have any recent injuries. The former Bearcat signal-caller showed up hungry to prove himself, and he did just that in offseason workouts and preseason action.