Desmond Ridder: 'Nerves are for the Unprepared'

The former UC quarterback wrote an article for The Player's Tribune to articulate his competitive drive.

CINCINNATI — Former Bearcats quarterback Desmond Ridder made one final pitch to NFL decision makers on Wednesday in an article for The Player's Tribune. In it, Ridder recalled how he came to love the game and the undying competitive spirit that's put him in this position.

Ridder displayed how confident he is in his ability to play at the next level because of all the work he has put in.

"One thing my position coach in high school, Dave Nurnberg, taught me was that you can’t just be ready to work," Ridder wrote. "You have to be prepared, too. And those are different things. Going into my junior year at Saint Xavier, I’d won the QB battle and was about to start the first game of the season. Before the game, Coach pulls me to the side and says, “Are you nervous?” I’m like, “No, not really, but—” And before I can even finish my sentence, he says, “GOOD. Because nerves are for the unprepared.” As soon as Coach put it like that, I knew exactly what he meant. Nerves are for the unprepared. Those words have stuck with me ever since."

Ridder pointed to the most pressure-packed portion of his young football career. Cincinnati sported a 10-0 record heading it's game against Tulsa last season, with poisonous chatter surrounding the team everywhere.

"If you want to see that confidence on film," Ridder said. "Watch some tape of our game last season against SMU. It was Senior Night, and we knew going in it was a big one. We were 10–0 at this point, so everybody was talking about the rankings and the playoffs and all of that. But we knew we had to erase that stuff from our minds. We knew that every time we’d played SMU, it was a tough battle — that they were a team that’s going to punch you in the mouth. And one thing to know about me, is that a team with me as its leader … we’re going to punch right back. We jumped out to a 41-0 lead and never looked back."

Ridder wrote the letter because he wants teams to hear directly from him on what kind of competitor he is.

"Listen, I won’t lie," Ridder said. "I knew going into the draft process I would have my skeptics. They exist everywhere, on everyone. I know that people have their opinions and question marks about me as a player. And I know those question marks won’t necessarily go away, even after I get drafted — there’s going to be a whole new set of challenges in front of me once I get to the NFL. I know that, but as I said: I welcome that. The challenge of it, that’s what excites me most about this game."

We'll find out in a little over 24 hours whether the final push is enough to get two UC players selected in the first round for the first time in program history.

Check out the full article here.

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