Desmond Ridder

Desmond Kelly Ridder (born August 31, 1999) is an American professional football quarterback. He played college football for the Cincinnati Bearcats, earning AAC Offensive Player of the Year honors twice before being selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft.

Ridder was born in Louisville, Kentucky, to a 15-year-old mother and was raised by his mother and grandmother. He attended Holy Family Parochial before attending St. Xavier High School.

As a senior at St. Xavier, Ridder passed for 1,319 yards and nine touchdowns and also led the Tigers in rushing with 668 yards and 12 touchdowns and was named All-Metro. He was rated as a two-star recruit by Rivals.com and a three-star recruit by 24/7 Sports and committed to play college football at the University of Cincinnati over an offer from Eastern Kentucky. He received his scholarship offer from Cincinnati head coach Tommy Tuberville following a tryout held on the morning of the Kentucky Oaks for offensive coordinator Zac Taylor during his junior year. After Tuberville resigned during his senior year, new coach Luke Fickell honored the offer and Ridder signed his National Letter of Intent.

Ridder redshirted his true freshman season in 2017. He became the Bearcats' starting quarterback as a redshirt freshman in 2018 and passed for 2,445 yards and 20 touchdowns and gained 583 yards rushing along with five touchdowns and was named the American Athletic Conference (AAC) Rookie of the Year.

As a redshirt sophomore in 2019, Ridder completed 179 of 325 passes for 2,164 yards and 18 touchdowns against nine interceptions while also rushing for 650 yards and five touchdowns. He was named the MVP of the 2020 Birmingham Bowl completing 14-of-24 passes for 95 yards and one touchdown, while also rushing for 105 yards and three touchdowns in a 38–6 victory over Boston College.

The 2020 season proved to be a breakout campaign for the junior quarterback. Ridder was named the Walter Camp Offensive Player of the Week and the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback of the Week after completing 13-of-21 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown and also rushing eight times for 179 yards and three touchdowns in a 42–13 win over 16th-ranked SMU on October 24, 2020. At the conclusion of the regular season, Ridder was named the AAC Offensive Player of the Year after passing 2,296 yards, and 19 touchdowns with six interceptions, while also rushing for 592 yards and 12 touchdowns, in only nine games due to the COVID-19-shortened season. Ridder considered declaring for the 2021 NFL draft, but opted to return for his redshirt senior season.

In 2021, for the second time in his career, Ridder was named the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback of the Week after the No. 7 Bearcats defeated No. 9 Notre Dame on the road. Ridder went 19-of-32 for 297 yards and two TDs. In addition, he rushed for 26 yards and a game-sealing fourth-quarter touchdown as the Bearcats snapped the Fighting Irish's 26-game home winning streak. Following an unbeaten 12–0 season, Ridder and the Bearcats went into the 2021 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game ranked number four in the AP Polls, meaning a victory would see them stay in a playoff spot. Following a 35–20 win over the Houston Cougars, they became the first Group of Five team to make the playoffs, as well as the last major undefeated team going into the postseason. Ridder and Cincinnati would fall 27–6 to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the college football playoff semi-finals, finishing his final year in college with 30 passing touchdowns, six rushing touchdowns, and just eight interceptions, in what was the best season in the program's history.

After wrapping up his collegiate career at Cincinnati, Ridder was invited to the NFL Scouting Combine, where he measured in at 6'3" and 211 lbs., with a 32.75-inch arm span and a 10-inch hand span. With a 4.52-second 40-yard dash, Ridder posted one of the fastest times recorded by a quarterback. At the end of the pre-draft process, most experts had projected Ridder as a first-round to third-round pick. He was rated as the fourth-best quarterback prospect in the 2022 NFL draft class, after Malik Willis, Kenny Pickett, and Matt Corral.^{[citation needed]}