CB Quincy Riley Showcases Ball Skills in Louisville's Fall Camp

The transfer from Middle Tennessee State led the nation in interceptions per game in 2021.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Following a season in which the secondary for the Louisville football program allowed 245.6 passing yards per game, ranking 95th out of 130 FBS teams, head coach Scott Satterfield opted to hit the transfer portal to address some needs in this area of the field. The Cardinals have experienced veterans like Kei'Trel Clark and Kenderick Duncan, but needed more depth to give the secondary a jolt of life.

Over the course of the offseason, all four transfer defensive backs have drawn praise from the coaching staff. Jarvis Brownlee Jr. put on display his aggressive nature in fall camp, M.J. Griffin's has stood out since arriving in the spring, and Nicario Harper is a Swiss Army Knife that can play multiple positions well.

The fourth transfer defensive back, Middle Tennessee State transfer cornerback Quincy Riley, is no exception. He put on display his incredible ball skills on a day-in and day-out basis, and had arguably one of the best performances in all of fall camp.

"You look at his body of work since training camp, he's a ball magnet," co-defensive coordinator and secondaries coach Wesley McGriff said. "One day, he had three turnovers in practice, three takeaways, if you will. They were all earned because he's taking the ball away. He's always around the football. He had three fumble recoveries on another day. He has a lot of ball production, and he's shown that he can take the ball away when it's not intended for him."

It's not exactly a surprise that Riley has incredible ball skills. The 6-foot, 185-pound corner was one of the top defensive backs in the Group of Five during the 2021 season. His five interceptions was tied for fourth in all of FBS, while also logging 14 pass defenses, four tackles for loss and a sack. All that production from Riley came in just nine games last season, as he missed four games due to various injuries.

His ball skills aren't the only things that stood out in camp. Satterfield noted that Riley has "great speed" to go along with it, and McGriff loves Riley's ability to remain cool under pressure.

"He has a lot of good traits, but man, he never panics," McGriff said. "He always is calm, he can fix it when things go wrong. There's no panic in his play. He's really good at locating and finding the ball, so we're looking for him to play at a high level."

Riley credits his ball hawk status to his upbringing as a player on the offensive side of the ball. He played quarterback and running back in Pop Warner, and was a wide receiver over his first three years in high school. He didn't start taking defensive back reps until his senior year.

"Growing up, I was always an offensive player, so I know where the ball is going to go," he said. "Really, it’s just knowing ball, ball, ball, ball. That’s what most people want on their defense, ball hawks, or a guy that can create turnovers. So somehow, someway, I’ve got to get to the ball.

The Columbia, S.C. native admits that newness of everything that comes when you transfer, such as new calls and new plays, made him a bit "uncomfortable" in the start of fall camp. But now, not only is he "real comfortable," he is expecting big things from both himself and the rest of the secondary.

"We got a lot of guys in the secondary that can make a lot of plays," he said. "I think the depth that we have a secondary thing, keep rotating, I think it'll be by far the best secondary in the ACC. Let's see what we do in the country, but it's gonna be a lot of turnovers this year. I can bet money on that one."

Louisville will begin the 2022 season when they travel to upstate New York to face Syracuse on Saturday, Sept. 3. 

(Photo of Quincy Riley via University of Louisville Athletics)

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