Meet potential first-round quarterback Desmond Ridder, who spoke exclusively to Sky Sports’ Cameron Hogwood about his NFL journey ahead of the 2022 draft. Watch all three days of the NFL Draft live on Sky Sports NFL starting Thursday night.
Desmond Ridder once dreamed of a career as a top-notch quarterback with heartbreaking hits, revealing his best Ray Lewis image along with his signature dance to complete the ensemble.
“It was a hit like Ray (Lewis) and a throw like Peyton (Manning),” he told Sky Sports in an exclusive interview.
“I just remember when I was 11 they moved me to quarterback, but before that I played linebacker and was a forward, I was one of those people who lashed out at people, I was always bigger, I was always faster, always stronger , many children were afraid of me, so I always remember the big school football kicks that I used to put on the children, but today I can’t do that much.”
He smiles at the thought of how his Cincinnati coaches might have reacted to seeing him line up with Ray Lewis, admitting he “probably did something wrong” if he fought like Ray Lewis in college.
This perhaps explains the elusiveness as a ball carrier, off-platform running prowess, freelancing mobility, outside pocket dexterity; as Ridder is not only attracted to the cutoff speed and lateral agility of a linebacker, but also appreciates the professional non-hit hazard they pose to people like him.
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“I definitely think that my time as a linebacker has helped me in terms of running,” he said. “I have deceptive speed, I have long strides, people don’t think I run that fast, but I run fast and it makes defenders look at me at a strange angle and I usually run past them. out there and climbing out of the pocket, I’m athletic so I’m trying to play but I’m also trying to play smart without hurting the ball.”
Before that, Ridder was a kicker. Like. Not really.
His earliest football memory is of sticking bed rugs on the cherry glass windows of his grandmother’s wooden back doors to protect their integrity when he pretended to kick or kick a ball from his living room.
“Grandma made me put them up because I broke a couple of windows, which she had to replace with flexible glass, so the cribs had to be raised,” he explains, before joking that an NFL salary would allow him to reimburse her.
