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This is the article version of Tre'von Riggins' Wednesday podcast interview. If you'd like to listen to the full audio, click here.
Since tearing his meniscus in his left knee last spring and missing his entire junior season, 2020 Miami defensive line commit Tre’von Riggins has kept somewhat of a low profile considering he was a highly sought after 4-star recruit. After a long recovery process, Riggins is fully healthy now, and is spending the offseason training with his personal trainer at Lakewood High, where he’s now transferred to from IMG Academy for his senior season. Although some may have forgotten what Riggins can bring to the field after so much time off, he feels other’s opinions of him aren’t important at the end of the day.
“I haven’t been to any camps or any of that because none of that matters to me. Like I posted on my Twitter, you can go to camps and be an all-star, but when you in pads and you can’t play, you just simply can’t play,” Riggins said. “I missed my junior season and I sat my sophomore year, but I know I can play, and I’m going to let the whole world know that this year.
“So, whoever’s watching, I ain’t going to go to no camps, I don’t need no stars, no rankings, I got my offer, I’m good. I don’t need no all-star game to verify who I am as a player, I don’t need no social media people boosting me up, none of that. Because when it comes to the game, when you’re in the locker room putting on pads and helmets, the media not going out there, the player himself is going out there, so if you can’t play, you can’t play. Simple as that. You got 5-stars out here getting exposed, c’mon now.”
The big news of the week has been Jess Simpson’s departure from the staff to return to the NFL and coach the defensive line of the Atlanta Falcons. While some prospects would take real issue with their position coach leaving, Riggins said he’s still solidly committed to the Canes and wants to come to Miami for many other reasons than just one coach.
“I’m fully committed. I committed to Miami for the tradition and just the culture of the whole program,” Riggins said. “The school part, the business part, everything that Miami has to offer outside of football really caught my attention the most. Like I told coach (Manny) Diaz, I’m trying to leave a legacy at Miami, so whatever I have to do, that’s what I’m willing to do.”
To replace Simpson, UM head coach Manny Diaz added Todd Stroud, who was Akron’s defensive coordinator last season and worked with Diaz at NC State back in the early 2000’s. Has Stroud been in touch with Riggins yet?
“I just read some stuff about him, but I haven’t talked to him,” Riggins said. “I’m pretty sure we’ll get in contact before the week is over.”
The Hurricanes did not have the year they hoped for in 2018, finishing 7-6 and ending the season with an embarrassing loss at the hands of Wisconsin in their bowl game. As a result, Mark Richt decided to step down as head coach, leading to UM essentially promoting Diaz from his defensive coordinator position. Despite the massive change that has gone on within the program, Riggins doesn’t see the need to fix what wasn’t broken on the defense.
“Coach Diaz was DC when I first committed. When I first met him, he was real authentic to me and I felt like he was gonna take control of the Miami defense,” Riggins said. “If you mention Miami, the first thing you’re do is mention our offense, that’s the only thing somebody can say that Miami needs to improve is offense. Because if you look at defense, you can compare us to Bama, Clemson, all our stats have been top 10. So, I don’t see much changing, not defensive-wise.”
Although he won’t hit campus until the following season, Riggins has a few suggestions for how the team can play better in 2019 and reverse the misfortune of the previous year.
“I feel like they’ve got to play with more confidence and trust the scheme,” Riggins said. “When you playing, it’s not like, ‘We gonna do this and hope it works.’ It’s all about scheme and processing how everything goes. I know they’re gonna do good this year.”
Riggins’ last trip to campus was in early February for Junior Day, when Miami landed 5 new commitments during the event and built some solid buzz for the program.
“It went good, I had a real good time. Coach Diaz was talking to me and all the other coaches,” Riggins said. “You know, Miami gonna be real special. It’s just, Miami has a lot of doubters because we’re not the most talked about. Once we establish who we really are this year, you’re gonna see a lot of people try to hop on the bandwagon. It’s gonna come, we just got to wait and see.”
The excitement has been reverberating throughout the Hurricanes’ community and Riggins feels this is exactly what should be happening at a place like Miami.
“That’s how it needs to be, it needs to be a lot more exciting, a lot more energy to the program,” Riggins said. “Kids now a days, they don’t want a boring coach. That’s not to say coach Richt was a boring coach, it just kind of fits the new wave of how kids learn better.”
The Canes are already off to a fast start in 2020 recruiting with 9 commitments in the early going and ranked #3 in the country by various recruiting services. On his classmates, Riggins envisions the core of Category20 sticking together and continuing to build the class.
“Right now, the dudes I’ve talked to that are committed are fully committed, everybody’s on the same page,” Riggins said. “Everybody chooses different schools for different reasons, so we just gotta see how everything plays out.”
As he has been a commitment to UM since January 2018, Riggins has naturally become a leader in the class, and has taken up recruiting others to join him in Category20. One such players is former IMG teammate Lejond Cavazos, who just recently visited and who Miami wants badly. Riggins shed some light on the pair’s relationship and how Cavazos is as a player.
“Man, Lejond can go anywhere he wants. I want him at Miami. That’s my brother dude,” Riggins said. “He’s a really good athlete, his numbers and stats are just off the charts. He goes to the camps and just dominates completely, so he just has that type of swag about him. When he steps on the field, he feels like he’s the best. He gonna show that this year for sure.”
In fact, for his next planned visit on March 24th, Riggins hopes to bring along DT Clyde Pinder to help him land an offer so he can eventually end up in UM’s 2020 class. Another potential addition that Riggins would love? His quarterback at Lakewood in Gregory Spann, who already has an offer from UM.
“I’m trying to get this dude from Armwood named Clyde. I’m trying to get him, we need him to get an offer,” Riggins said. “He was at the Junior Day with me and I told him he should come out there with me again when I go on the 24th so he can try to get the offer. Him and Gregory Spann, the quarterback. I want him too.”
Since tearing his meniscus in his left knee last spring and missing his entire junior season, 2020 Miami defensive line commit Tre’von Riggins has kept somewhat of a low profile considering he was a highly sought after 4-star recruit. After a long recovery process, Riggins is fully healthy now, and is spending the offseason training with his personal trainer at Lakewood High, where he’s now transferred to from IMG Academy for his senior season. Although some may have forgotten what Riggins can bring to the field after so much time off, he feels other’s opinions of him aren’t important at the end of the day.
“I haven’t been to any camps or any of that because none of that matters to me. Like I posted on my Twitter, you can go to camps and be an all-star, but when you in pads and you can’t play, you just simply can’t play,” Riggins said. “I missed my junior season and I sat my sophomore year, but I know I can play, and I’m going to let the whole world know that this year.
“So, whoever’s watching, I ain’t going to go to no camps, I don’t need no stars, no rankings, I got my offer, I’m good. I don’t need no all-star game to verify who I am as a player, I don’t need no social media people boosting me up, none of that. Because when it comes to the game, when you’re in the locker room putting on pads and helmets, the media not going out there, the player himself is going out there, so if you can’t play, you can’t play. Simple as that. You got 5-stars out here getting exposed, c’mon now.”
The big news of the week has been Jess Simpson’s departure from the staff to return to the NFL and coach the defensive line of the Atlanta Falcons. While some prospects would take real issue with their position coach leaving, Riggins said he’s still solidly committed to the Canes and wants to come to Miami for many other reasons than just one coach.
“I’m fully committed. I committed to Miami for the tradition and just the culture of the whole program,” Riggins said. “The school part, the business part, everything that Miami has to offer outside of football really caught my attention the most. Like I told coach (Manny) Diaz, I’m trying to leave a legacy at Miami, so whatever I have to do, that’s what I’m willing to do.”
To replace Simpson, UM head coach Manny Diaz added Todd Stroud, who was Akron’s defensive coordinator last season and worked with Diaz at NC State back in the early 2000’s. Has Stroud been in touch with Riggins yet?
“I just read some stuff about him, but I haven’t talked to him,” Riggins said. “I’m pretty sure we’ll get in contact before the week is over.”
The Hurricanes did not have the year they hoped for in 2018, finishing 7-6 and ending the season with an embarrassing loss at the hands of Wisconsin in their bowl game. As a result, Mark Richt decided to step down as head coach, leading to UM essentially promoting Diaz from his defensive coordinator position. Despite the massive change that has gone on within the program, Riggins doesn’t see the need to fix what wasn’t broken on the defense.
“Coach Diaz was DC when I first committed. When I first met him, he was real authentic to me and I felt like he was gonna take control of the Miami defense,” Riggins said. “If you mention Miami, the first thing you’re do is mention our offense, that’s the only thing somebody can say that Miami needs to improve is offense. Because if you look at defense, you can compare us to Bama, Clemson, all our stats have been top 10. So, I don’t see much changing, not defensive-wise.”
Although he won’t hit campus until the following season, Riggins has a few suggestions for how the team can play better in 2019 and reverse the misfortune of the previous year.
“I feel like they’ve got to play with more confidence and trust the scheme,” Riggins said. “When you playing, it’s not like, ‘We gonna do this and hope it works.’ It’s all about scheme and processing how everything goes. I know they’re gonna do good this year.”
Riggins’ last trip to campus was in early February for Junior Day, when Miami landed 5 new commitments during the event and built some solid buzz for the program.
“It went good, I had a real good time. Coach Diaz was talking to me and all the other coaches,” Riggins said. “You know, Miami gonna be real special. It’s just, Miami has a lot of doubters because we’re not the most talked about. Once we establish who we really are this year, you’re gonna see a lot of people try to hop on the bandwagon. It’s gonna come, we just got to wait and see.”
The excitement has been reverberating throughout the Hurricanes’ community and Riggins feels this is exactly what should be happening at a place like Miami.
“That’s how it needs to be, it needs to be a lot more exciting, a lot more energy to the program,” Riggins said. “Kids now a days, they don’t want a boring coach. That’s not to say coach Richt was a boring coach, it just kind of fits the new wave of how kids learn better.”
The Canes are already off to a fast start in 2020 recruiting with 9 commitments in the early going and ranked #3 in the country by various recruiting services. On his classmates, Riggins envisions the core of Category20 sticking together and continuing to build the class.
“Right now, the dudes I’ve talked to that are committed are fully committed, everybody’s on the same page,” Riggins said. “Everybody chooses different schools for different reasons, so we just gotta see how everything plays out.”
As he has been a commitment to UM since January 2018, Riggins has naturally become a leader in the class, and has taken up recruiting others to join him in Category20. One such players is former IMG teammate Lejond Cavazos, who just recently visited and who Miami wants badly. Riggins shed some light on the pair’s relationship and how Cavazos is as a player.
“Man, Lejond can go anywhere he wants. I want him at Miami. That’s my brother dude,” Riggins said. “He’s a really good athlete, his numbers and stats are just off the charts. He goes to the camps and just dominates completely, so he just has that type of swag about him. When he steps on the field, he feels like he’s the best. He gonna show that this year for sure.”
In fact, for his next planned visit on March 24th, Riggins hopes to bring along DT Clyde Pinder to help him land an offer so he can eventually end up in UM’s 2020 class. Another potential addition that Riggins would love? His quarterback at Lakewood in Gregory Spann, who already has an offer from UM.
“I’m trying to get this dude from Armwood named Clyde. I’m trying to get him, we need him to get an offer,” Riggins said. “He was at the Junior Day with me and I told him he should come out there with me again when I go on the 24th so he can try to get the offer. Him and Gregory Spann, the quarterback. I want him too.”
