Jordan Riley, one of BSU's top defenders, may just be scratching the surface of his potential

MUNCIE, Ind. — Jordan Riley wasn't supposed to be at Ball State.

The Clinton, Maryland product originally committed to William & Mary. Then he committed to Fordham and COVID-19 happened. Shortly after, Ball State passing game coordinator/defensive backs coach Josh Zidenberg found out Riley was planning to go to military school. Riley was among Zidenberg's top recruits when he was on staff at William & Mary in 2019, and the coach made it his mission to get the 6-foot-1, 195-pound safety to Muncie.

Test scores left Riley stranded. Zidenberg said he got a "bad deal" and was he almost missed his shot to play Division I football. In many ways, Riley fell into Ball State's lap and, looking back, Zidenberg is glad he did.

"I immediately was like, 'hold on, I'll take this kid. (I'll) figure out a way,'" Zidenberg said when he found out Riley was available. "... He just kind of fell into us and it's very fortunate on our end because I knew how special he could be."

Last season, on a veteran-led team, Riley played in all 13 games as a true freshman. As the season went on, he saw more and more playing time in a secondary made up exclusively of upperclassmen.

This year, Riley's been on another level.

At Georgia Southern, he registered career-highs with eight tackles (which he also achieved against Western Michigan) and had four pass breakups. He's currently tied for 13th in the Football Bowl Subdivision averaging 1.5 passes defended per game — behind teammate Nic Jones, who's tied for sixth with 1.8 — and is second on Ball State with 23 tackles to go along with two tackles for loss and a sack.

On the field, Riley's a difference maker. He prides himself in running at and punishing defenders. He's the future of Ball State's secondary and he may very well just be getting started.

"I would say I'm really aggressive," Riley said. "I love coming downhill and stuff but, really, there's a lot of stuff I still need to work on."

That's the exciting piece for Zidenberg, who brought in Riley as a player who could play cornerback or safety. His size combined with his speed has made him an invaluable piece to Ball State's defense.

"He's a good-sized kid who moves well enough to play corner, he's fluid," Zidenberg said ."He's got great speed and he's really physical. ... Just kind of more boxes just started to check off to where he's like, 'listen, he's by all means a no-brainer for us.'"

Riley didn't just fall into Ball State's lap after his previous two commitments. Playing in high school at National Christian Academy, Riley was on the same team as Texas A&M defensive back Josh Moten and Eastern Carolina inside linebacker Teylor Jackson, who was listed as a safety in high school.

At National Christian Academy, Riley's defensive backs coach suggested he started wrestling. Riley's aggressiveness was there, but he felt the tools he learned in wrestling helped him become a better tackler.

There were other highly touted players on his high school team, too, and Zidenberg felt that was part of the reason he was lost in the shuffle a bit. Looking ahead, Zidenberg feels like he can become the best player among that group.

From the first day he put on pads, head coach Mike Neu recognized the same potential.

"When he started for the first time, you're like, 'Woah, who's that?'" Neu said. "That's great to see his hard work pay off for himself and to be in the position that he's in right now and just getting better every week is awesome to see."

Every week, Neu said he sees Riley's confidence grow. Riley thanks the players before him such as Bryce Cosby, who's currently on the Las Vegas Raiders practice squad. Coming in, Riley knew it was a tall task to start over a multi-year starter like Cosby or Brett Anderson. But Riley watched film with Cosby and figured out the key for himself, even if he made a mistake, was to do it at 100%.

"Last season, I just wanted to prove when it was my time to go out on the field I was going to be a factor," Riley said. "I was really a big special teams guy, so I was just doing my part, waiting my turn behind Bryce and Brett. I feel like now, I just got to go get it."

There's still plenty of growth for Riley over the next two-and-a-half years of his eligibility. Even after a standout game against Georgia Southern, Riley pointed to two potential interceptions he felt would've been "game changers."

Riley, in terms of grade level, is one of the youngest starters on Ball State's defense. Next season, after more of the secondary graduates, Riley will be one of the most veteran defenders on the team. But Zidenberg already sees him as a leader.

"He's got some very raw characteristics that are very special," Zidenberg said. "He certainly has a ways to go but he possesses a significant amount of them, so I think the ceiling is as high as he could ever possibly want it as long as he keeps his head down and keeps working."

Robby General covers Ball State and East Central Indiana high school sports for The Star Press. Contact him via email at rgeneral@gannett.com or on Twitter @rgeneraljr.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Jordan Riley has quickly become one of Ball State's top defenders