Four-star TE sees a much-different Iowa State on Tuesday
As he approaches a summer commitment deadline, and with the NCAA now pushing to extend the dead period even further into 2022, a four-star tight end from Nebraska took it upon himself to visit some schools on his list.
Bellevue West junior Micah Riley-Ducker traveled to several schools over the past week, and his stop at Iowa State yesterday afternoon capped off the journey.
“It’s a great vibe and I felt comfortable down there,” said Riley-Ducker, who was last in Ames as an eighth-grader during his older brother Jevyon’s recruiting visit. “I feel like it’s a place I could see myself being for four or five years. I really liked it. I had been there a few times when I was younger, so I kind of had a little bit of knowledge of where to go and what’s there.
“I saw the new (Student-Athlete Performance Center) and it’s amazing. I can’t wait to see how that finishes out. You could see a change with what’s going on outside. I didn’t really get the full aspect of meeting the coaches or going inside, to see the culture and find out what that’s like. From the outside looking in, you could tell things have changed.”
Riley-Ducker is a four-star prospect with a 5.8 Rivals rating. He’s considered the 13th tight end nationally and third overall recruit in Nebraska for the 2022 class. As a junior, he caught 23 passes for 310 yards and seven touchdowns.
With a Power-5 offer list that also includes Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Colorado, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kansas State, Louisville, Missouri, Nebraska, Miami (Fla.), Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Penn State, Tennessee and Wisconsin, Riley-Ducker can go just about anywhere he chooses in 2022.
The NCAA’s latest proposal would push the dead period out to May, and Riley-Ducker is still pushing to make a decision in July. In order to get a better look at some of the programs on his list, he traveled to ISU, Iowa, Georgia Tech, Missouri, Auburn, Illinois and Kentucky over the past week.
Riley-Ducker felt he’s seen enough in I-State that it will make his next cutdown.
“They’ll be one of my final schools,” he said. “I’m hoping to make a decision in July, depending on if they open things back up and let me take some visits. They’re for sure in the top group. I need to see these schools before I can really cut stuff down. I really don’t know where I’m going to go.”
How the Cyclones use his position group is a big part in including them in a group of finalists.
“I think it’s great that the tight ends are a huge part of their offense,” he said. “They’ve been talking about that for a while now. It’s been a big part of our conversations. They’re going to get the ball to the tight ends.
“No matter how many are on the field, whether it’s one, two, or three, they do a lot of personnel stuff. It’s a big thing. I know I’m going to be out there in a system that’s going to use me. I watched a lot of the games throughout the year and saw them improve a lot on the field. Just what they do with the tight ends is great.”