Kansas State football has caught some absolute whoppers when it has gone fishing for defensive backs in the transfer portal and they may have reeled another over the offseason Ball State transfer Jordan Riley.
For whatever reason, the Wildcats have had tremendous success with transfer cornerbacks and safeties. The list grows longer each season: Julius Brents, Josh Hayes, Russ Yeast, Drake Cheatham, Reggie Stubblefield, Cincere Mason and current senior safety Marques Sigle. Those are just a handful of the names who have thrived in their time with the Wildcats over the last handful of seasons.
When asked about what led to the portal successes, defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman hit on one big thing that he and the other Wildcat coaches start with when they go transfer shopping: love of the game.
“I really vibe well with guys (who) love football,” Klanderman said. “I don’t vibe that well with guys (who) are just about the flash of being in the portal. So, what we’ve done is we’ve found kids that maybe aren’t the highest-profile names out there. They jump in the portal and maybe there’s not 70 schools that are recruiting (them), but we’re finding kids (who) really love the game, and we’re finding guys (who) want to get better, finding guys (who) want to get developed, (who), for whatever reason, have hit a wall where they’re at.
“I think it’s just that, with my experience and with (head coach Chris Klieman’s) experience, we can find out who those guys really are, and then we walk away from the guys (who) aren’t like they’re like poison. We’ve done that too, and we’ve seen those guys too, and fortunately, we’ve landed on the right guys.”
It seems as though that formula has led to another home run for K-State with the addition of Riley, who arrived at K-State in the spring and immediately made himself known to his teammates as a hard worker, and an even harder hitter.
“I’m a big work ethic guy,” Riley said. “So when I first got here, we were in the weight room, so I tried to show everybody how hard I like to push myself and to push the people around me. I just feel like I gained respect by just treating everybody how I want to be treated in the weight room and on the field.”
As a junior, Riley started all 12 games for the Cardinals, ranking third on the team with 61 tackles to go along with three tackles for loss, eight passes defended and a fumble recovery.
Throughout the spring and into the fall, Riley has earned raves from coaches and teammates alike, and he’s put himself in line to be the starter at the third safety spot in the Wildcats’ 3-3-5 defense when the season starts later this month.
“He tracks the ball really well when he’s (at the jack safety position),” junior safety VJ Payne said. “He doesn’t stop his feet when he’s in open field. He runs through tackles He’s a great open-field tackler. He knows how to fit in the box and read the gap. … That’s my guy. I like having him on the field.”
When asked about Riley’s impact so far this season, junior cornerback Jacob Parrish was a little more succinct and literal.
“He is a very outgoing person, and he likes to hit,” Parrish said. “So be prepared for that.”
The former high school wrestler and defensive tackle turned defensive back does not shy away from physicality. In fact, he relishes it. He’s even repurposed a wrestling move, the “blast double,” to the football field.
“It’s really just like a form tackle,” Riley said. “You dive at both legs and then you swoop up and take them to the ground.”
Fans should expect to see plenty of blast doubles and other hard hits throughout the season. Riley’s physicality has already caught the eye of scouts at the next level and that should only continue when the season kicks off on August 31 versus Tennessee-Martin.
“I’ve had the opportunity to talk to a few NFL scouts about (Riley) and they’ve been impressed with his physicality,” assistant head coach and cornerbacks coach Van Malone said. “He’s a physical player, and he does a great job of communicating. You see moments in practice when the game is on the line within practice. And he’s the one who is who is grabbing the mic. He’s an alpha. We’ve got some other leaders, but he always seems to kind of emerge.”
