2022 3* TE Micah Riley-Ducker Signs With Auburn!!

[1716AU 728]

12 hours ago, Zeek said:

I think we have a RB, WR, LB, S all right around the corner. 

Nah, can't be.  The sky is falling, right?

[abw0004 10,110]

Welcome to the Family, Micah!

[SumterAubie 3,031]

[AUpreacherman22 3,884]

Nice pickup!!!  War Eagle!!!

[LKEEL75 2,566]

This guy has potential to be so great

[PUB78 1,357]

19 hours ago, Zeek said:

I think we have a RB, WR, LB, S all right around the corner. 

Any OL commits coming?

[DAG 33,964]

12 minutes ago, PUB78 said:

Any OL commits coming?

Not if they aren't the quality type. The coaching staff seems to be determine to find fit, not just bodies.

[Rednilla 5,383]

21 minutes ago, PUB78 said:

Any OL commits coming?

Haven't heard any hints that we're close with any OTs. Seems like I heard we were doing pretty well with an OG, but that could be old, or I could just be making it up.

[Beaker 2,457]

The  McPhearson Effect.

[Paladin 3,305]

Bellevue West's Micah Riley-Ducker commits to Auburn

Drake Keeler World-Herald staff writer

With his commitment to Auburn on Wednesday, Micah Riley-Ducker will have a chance to respond on the field to the SEC hecklers he has already met.

The Bellevue West tight end, who announced his commitment in an event at Aksarben Village, said that after a trip south, an interaction with an Alabama fan at the airport made him more confident in where he wanted to go.

“We were about to board, and an Alabama fan freaked out on us, because I had my backpack on,” he said. “They were like ‘Roll Tide,’ and I knew from that second this is where I wanted to go. It's all competition down there."

Of course, much more factored into his decision. Prior to the announcement, the three-star prospect and No. 15 tight end overall, according to the 247Sports composite, had conversations with his family that helped him make the call between finalists Auburn, Iowa, Illinois and Iowa State.

“A lot of people say this isn't a family decision, but it is,” Riley-Ducker said. “They've guided me through everything so this is the best opportunity for me. Best opportunity to play early, best environment, best coaching staff for me.”

The coaches in particular are an interesting part of the puzzle, as the Tigers will be led by new coach Bryan Harsin, who was previously at Boise State. Riley-Ducker said he connected especially well with the tight end room and position coach Brad Bedell.

“We have a good vibe," he said. "I know (Bedell) will put in extra time and effort with me and make sure I'm straight. Same with the guys in the room, I know they care about me.”

The 6-foot-6, 235-pounder also was impressed with Harsin’s résumé — the coach didn’t have a five-loss season with the Broncos from 2014-2020. That’s something coaches at Illinois, Iowa and Iowa State can’t claim.

“You play to win," he said. "That's why we do it. ... So that's a big part of this and I knew as soon as I left this was where I wanted to go.”

Auburn could give Riley-Ducker an opportunity to compete for snaps early. The Tigers didn’t have a tight end top 100 yards receiving last year. Meanwhile, two of the top four receivers for Harsin’s Broncos were tight ends.

Riley-Ducker is the second SEC commit to come out of Omaha in five days. On July 3, Omaha Central lineman Deshawn Woods committed to Missouri.

Even on his commitment day, Riley-Ducker made sure to give love to the talent in the area and on his team. A group of his Thunderbird teammates were in attendance, and he celebrated with them immediately after his announcement.

“We can ball, all of them can ball, it's just about opportunity, and I love my guys,” he said. “So it's just about opportunity, finding a place for you and we got a lot of guys that are on the brink, or if not already there.”

Edited July 9, 2021 by Paladin

[AUinfusion 390]

I am one of those who is naturally optimistic, but am having a hard time being optimistic about our current recruiting. That said, I think Riley-Ducker is an absolute steal. He has the kind of attitude we want on this team, IMHO.

[augolf1716 21,102]

1 hour ago, Paladin said:

The Bellevue West tight end, who announced his commitment in an event at Aksarben Village, said that after a trip south, an interaction with an Alabama fan at the airport made him more confident in where he wanted to go.

Just a little side note for those not from that area Aksarben is Nebraska spelled backwards weird I know but it is popular to use in the Omaha area for some reason. 

[Beaker 2,457]

14 minutes ago, augolf1716 said:

Just a little useless side note for those not from that area Aksarben is Nebraska spelled backwards weird I know but it is popular to use in the Omaha area for some reason. 

Huh....I am not sure what to think about this.   I still hate amab.    Does that give me another program to hate? 

I only hate bama, thUGA and amab.  

[AUloggerhead 2,227]

6 hours ago, Paladin said:

...

The Bellevue West tight end, who announced his commitment in an event at Aksarben Village, said that after a trip south, an interaction with an Alabama fan at the airport made him more confident in where he wanted to go.

“We were about to board, and an Alabama fan freaked out on us, because I had my backpack on,” he said. “They were like ‘Roll Tide,’ and I knew from that second this is where I wanted to go. It's all competition down there."

...

I like this kid even more, now.  When AU beat Oregon for all the marbles back in Jan 2011, I was traveling due to my job at the time and on my return flight home, I was proudly wearing my AU sweatshirt.  I get off the plane at Seatac airport and am walking towards baggage claim.  On my way through the final security checkpoint, the seated security guard (who was as big as Jabba the Hut) starts yelling at me repeatedly, roll tide, roll tide, roll tide ad nauseum as I walked on by.  All I could think of was:   Geez, what a miserable human being(!)  I looked at him and said, "National Champs, baby" and gave him a big smile.    

[aubiefifty 16,751]

He wants to finish you and embarrass you in front of everyone you know.<<<this all day long!!!!

•  

 

How Micah Riley-Ducker can help the Tigers

Zac Blackerby

2-3 minutes

---

The Auburn Tigers are getting a tight end that can do it all in Micah Riley-Ducker.

The tight end announced that he would be lending his services to Bryan Harsin’s program Wednesday night. The Bellevue, Nebraska native is listed as a three-star player by some recruiting sites and a four-star by others. Regardless of his ranking, the belief is he will be able to help out the Auburn Tigers.

It was an impressive move by Harsin’s staff to be able to go out and get the 6-foot-six, 235-pound prospect from the middle of the country, far away from Auburn. Harsin gets his first high school player to commit to the Tigers that resides outside of the southeast.

Jake Crain, the host of The JBoy Show, joined the Locked On Auburn podcast to discuss what type of player that the Auburn fanbase can expect.

“A lot of people thought Iowa early,” Crain said on the show. “This is such a great job by Bryan Harsin and his staff. Look, I coached at Iowa Western Junior College for two years and was out in Council Bluffs and was actually really close to Bellevue, Nebraska and these kids are really tough. He is a four-star kid. You look at his frame, he’s got room to grow. Jeff Pittman is going to put some weight on him. The thing about this kid, and there’s a few things that stand out. Number one is that he’s a willing blocker and in today’s football world, outside of offensive linemen, to find a tight end that not only wants to block but if you turn on his tape, he wants to finish you and embarrass you in front of everyone you know. That’s how you win football games. He can also play inline which means he can go on the end of the line of scrimmage and put his hand down, get in the hip, and can probably help you with running split zone a little bit”

Riley Ducker is the fifth member of the 2022 Auburn signing class. He joins quarterback Holden Geriner, defensive back Jarrell Stinson, linebacker Powell Gordon, and kicker Alex McPherson.

Contact/Follow us @theauburnwire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. 

[Paladin 3,305]

 

Riley-Ducker brings 'mean' blocker mentality at tight end

Brian Stultz • AuburnSports

AUBURN | Micah Riley-Ducker loves to block. No, that is an understatement. He loves to block, so much so that he gets a bit resentful when he doesn’t get the chance.

“He gets disappointed because we're kind of a complex offense, so we call the formation, we call the play, but the quarterback reads the defense and tells them which way,” Riley-Ducker’s high school coach Michael Huffman said. “He gets mad when it's going the other way. He wants them coming at him so he can thump somebody. Backside blocking, he's just cutting off and getting in the way. Play side, he's kicking butts. He gets bummed. You kind of hear him, ‘Ugh.’”

This is definitely a good sign for an offensive lineman, but what makes Riley-Ducker’s case so interesting is that he is a tight end. The recent Auburn commit tries to “kick someone’s ass” on every play, per his coach, but at the same time has the qualities that you look for in a player at the tight end position.

“He's got a smooth body that can move and change directions,” Huffman said. “He's got wonderful hands.”

There are still certain things that the 6-foot-6 Riley-Ducker needs to work on, but Huffman's confident in Auburn tight ends coach Brad Bedell in correcting those.

“I told Coach Bedell he's going to have to work on his routes a little bit, because he watches too many guru tapes and all these guru receiver coaches get these kids on cones and get them all short and choppy. Short and choppy doesn't get you any separation.”

With programs such as Iowa, Kansas State and Nebraska who are known for using tight ends more regularly than Auburn, the four-star’s commitment might come as somewhat of a surprise. It was a technology feature that we use every single day that helped Riley-Ducker make his decision.

“It sounds like the kids that hosted him, they got a big group chat together,” Huffman explained. “And then rather than it just being over after his official visit, they continually just kept including him on everything. So he really liked the family vibe that he got there.”

Vibe is a word that Huffman kept saying his star kept mentioning. He enjoyed the vibe of the campus, the coaching staff and the current players. Riley-Ducker also appreciated what he heard from Bedell.

“He [Bedell] thinks Miley can play right away in certain packages,” Huffman said. “They think right away he can be like in five packages.”

Riley-Ducker will get an early start as he plans on graduating early from Bellevue West High School, signing in December and enrolling in January. That extra time is going to allow him to put even more muscle on a 235-pound body.

“I can't wait to see what the kid looks like when he gets into the strength program,” Huffman said. “We have a great strength program, but he's living off Cheetos, no matter how much fun I make of him. What's he going to look like after 11 months with Auburn's nutrition and Auburn's strength program? I guarantee he'll lose about 5 percent body fat.”

There are a lot of moments that stand out about Riley-Ducker on the football field, yet it is one small little thing that he did that showed Huffman what sort of person he is off of it.

“This is going to sound really weird, but my favorite story about Micah is he FaceTimed my wife on Mother's Day to wish her a happy Mother's Day.”

His coach also knows that if football doesn’t work out, he could easily make the transition into another career.

“He's beautiful,” Huffman said. “And he has an infectious, huge smile. I joke with him all the time that if football doesn't work out, he’s going to be a male model.”

In the meantime, Riley-Ducker will continue putting his hand on the ground and hoping that the quarterback calls the blocking formation his way.

“He's freaking mean, and that's why I think he's a good fit for the SEC,” Huffman said.

[Paladin 3,305]

 

[Paladin 3,305]

 

[augolf1716 21,102]

40 minutes ago, Paladin said:

 

I recommend everyone needs to read about MRD.....I like to hear about being a violent blocker

[bigbird 60,462]

18 hours ago, augolf1716 said:

I recommend everyone needs to read about MRD.....I like to hear about being a violent blocker

I hate...HATE agreeing with you, but when you're right, you're...

...Right. 

 

I need a shower

[McLoofus 35,182]

more like micah riley trucker amirite

[augolf1716 21,102]

24 minutes ago, bigbird said:

I hate...HATE agreeing with you, but when you're right, you're...

...Right. 

 

I need a shower

[Sizzle 3,909]

 

[GwillMac6 20,665]

5 hours ago, Sizzle said:

 

FEELS SOO GOOOOD MAAAAAAAN to actually be able to get excited about the talented TE's we have on our team and the ones incoming. LFG!!!! WOOOO!!!!

[Paladin 3,305]