Jim Harbaugh reached out to Riley on Sept. 1, but the relationship that Sherrone Moore is building with him is nearly unbreakable.
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We recently saw an Iowa native end up at Nebraska, and while 2022 Bellevue (NE) West three-star tight end Micah Riley was a Nebraska native who grew up rooting for Iowa, he’s not anywhere close to a lock to the Hawkeyes.
As Riley tells WolverinesWire, though he and his brothers would make sure to catch Iowa every Saturday, he’s since opened up to new, other possibilities. And Michigan has certainly positioned themselves well with the 6-foot-5, 228-pound TE.
The Wolverines offered Riley back in April, and since then, he’s developed a strong bond with Michigan tight ends coach Sherrone Moore. But even more coaches are getting into the mix now, with Sept. 1 marking the first day that coaches could initiate contact with 2022 prospects.
So it wasn’t just Moore he heard from on Tuesday, but also head coach Jim Harbaugh and director of recruiting Matt Dudek.
“Me and Coach Moore talk at least once a week since they offered,” Riley said. “We have a good connection, I like talking to him. He’s probably my favorite – one of my favorite coaches to talk to. We can talk about anything. So, that’s a plus.
“When (Sept. 1) hit, Coach Harbaugh texted me, so did Coach Dudek. So that was good to hear from them, too. So I have their numbers in and getting communication with them also.”
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More than just anywhere, Michigan is making Riley feel like a priority, but he also notes that Arizona State, Oregon, Minnesota and Nebraska are working their way into his recruitment.
While a relationship being built with the coaching staff is important to Riley, he’s looking for two other things: being developed into an NFL tight end and going to a place where he can study special education.
“Probably my first thing is I want to be somewhere where I’m wanted,” Riley said. “The second thing – my goal is obviously the NFL, but I want to go somewhere where special education is something I could do as my major. And then somewhere I feel comfortable. I want to have feel with the coaches, I want to be comfortable somewhere.”
What about special education appeals to Riley? He says he took something of a special interest in it due to his position coach in high school.
“I’ve just enjoyed working with kids since I was little,” Riley said. “I think it’s just something I want to do. My position coach at my school is a special ed teacher and I work with him a little bit. It’s just something I enjoy doing.”
Tight ends obviously have different skill sets from one to the other, and what system they go into can influence that heavily.
At the next level, Riley is hoping to go somewhere a bit more pass-heavy than his role in high school, but for now, he’s something of a nasty blocker, the way he tells it.
“I think as I get older I’ll probably get better on the field as a receiver, catching more balls and stuff,” Riley said. “But right now, just because of my size, high school blocking is my main thing. And I’m not scared of anybody, that’s my big thing.
“I like putting my nose into somebody’s chest and driving them into the ground, that’s just fun. Something I can do well to do.”
At the moment, Riley is waiting for the NCAA to lift the moratorium on visits, and then he’ll be off to the races, seeing as many places as possible.
He’s aiming for a commitment at his school of choice next summer, but he’s also not ruling out falling in love with a place and just running with it.
“I’m just gonna take as many visits as I can as soon as the dead period’s over,” “And then I’ll probably commit next summer. If I feel like I want to commit somewhere after a visit, then I’ll make a decision, but next summer is probably the time.”
According to the 247Sports Composite, Riley is rated as a three-star, the No. 319 player in the country, regardless of position, the No. 13 tight end and third-best player in the state of Nebraska in 2022.
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